


Into the Dungeons

by LadyLorena



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-30 22:46:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 220,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19412962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLorena/pseuds/LadyLorena
Summary: Written sometime back in the early 00s before we had every HP book, a mystery woman and her daughter come to Hogwarts.  Who knows what will happen next...will mom fall in love?  Will the kid make friends?  Will Voldemort's long lost daughter appear?  How about the appearance of Severus Snape's dad?  WHO KNOWS!!!  (Hint...it's all of the above AND MORE!)We all do stupid thing in our late teens/early 20s.  This was mine.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Do you like stories with implausible character relationships? With paragraphs that go on for days? How about stories with a lot of angst, melodrama, and song lyrics? Do you like finding that moment when the author just gave up on trying to reformat this mess for AO3 and let the inconsistent poetry formatting, alignment, and spacing just exist because WTF is this anyway? Then this fic is for you!
> 
> This was my absolute first fanfic. It is BAD. It is messy. And yet...here we are. I think I was in high school when I started this. The series had not yet completed, we didn't know a good chunk of the story, and I was obsessed with songfic and Snape redemption arcs. All everyone needed was love, right? And a good dose of angst. I was also pretty religious back then.
> 
> Did we know how the series was going to end? HELL NO. Did that stop us from posting fic on fan-forums (remember those, fandom olds)? ALSO HELL NO. This was posted on DarkMark.com. If you remember that, you get a gold star.
> 
> You also get a gold star if you manage to read all of this fanfic. Hell, you get a gold star if you manage to get through one chapter of this fanfic. You get SEVERAL gold stars for making to the end (and I'll high-five you from afar, congratulations, you made it through the dumpster fire of drama, angst, shoddily written romance, improbable plot, and so many new characters it wasn't even close to consistent with the book, even in the early 00s.
> 
> Honestly, you probably deserve some kind of award if you read all this fic. Maybe even a medal. Or both.
> 
> There is SO MUCH MARY SUE going on here that it almost hurts.
> 
> I have literally done nothing to fix this except a little formatting mess. I have copied and pasted it straight-up from the Angelfire site from which it was posted (and recovered thanks to the Wayback Machine).
> 
> Again, I want to warn you that this is the first-fic of a teenager back in the early 2000s (I graduated in 2002 and I know I was still writing this while I was in undergrad).
> 
> Enjoy it with many cringes.
> 
> If you're going to comment, you're welcome to tell me just how bad it is ;) But also, if you see something in it that doesn't suck, that planted the seed for later writing, or just amused you (even if it amused you because it was so bad), please note it! I love trying to figure out where I've been in the past as a writer and how it brought me to where I am now.

The day began rather normally for all those attending Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry and Ron were sitting down to breakfast with Hermione when a dishevelled lady entered the Great Hall. She glanced nervously around her, a child ducking at the base of her skirts as she worked her way along the outer walls of the hall, edging toward the head table.

Ron tapped Harry on the shoulder, "What do you suppose she is here for?"

Harry responded quickly, a bit under his breath, "I haven't any idea, have you ever seen her before?" Ron shook his head.

Hermione stood up, "I, for one, am going to find out.” Before either Harry or Ron could even attempt to stop their determined friend, she approached the lady. The woman was continuously watching all the faces in the room as Hermione walked up to her.

The lady paused her anxious quest toward the front of the Great Hall while Hermione addressed her, "Ma'am, can I help you?"

The lady spoke in a calm, yet still anxious voice, "Where is Headmaster Dumbledore? It is imperative that I see him as soon as possible."

Hermione responded, "Up there, in the middle of the head table. Might I ask what you are here for?"

The lady shook her head, "My dear girl, that is something that you may learn only in time," she continued toward the front of the Great Hall, the little girl trailing behind her. She ascended the stairs to the Head Table.

Harry watched the pair intently as Hermione returned to the table, "Who is she, Hermione? Did she say?" Hermione shook her head. The three friends continued to stare at the lady as she addressed the Headmaster. The conversation was brief and ended with the both of them leaving the Great Hall through a side door.

Later that day, Ron and Harry were working very quietly in Potions class when there came a timid knock on the door.

Professor Snape called sharply from his desk, "Enter." The door crept open and Albus Dumbledore entered first, followed by the young woman they had seen at breakfast, and the little girl who had accompanied her.

The Headmaster spoke, "Severus? May I intrude for a moment? There is someone here I would like you to meet."

Snape paused, "If you must."

Dumbledore smiled, "I knew you would be enthusiastic, Severus! This is Miss Annelise Marrion Schetzek- a newcomer to these parts, and here is her daughter, Miss Angelique Marie LeFay. They will be staying with us for the remainder of the year." Snape nodded his head curtly.

Annelise stepped up to him and extended her hand, "How do you do, Sir? 'Tis a pleasure to have the opportunity to make your acquaintance," she turned to the girl, "Angel dear, come up and shake hands with the good Professor." Snape was a bit taken aback by the warm attitude the young lady took with her introduction.

Angel was timid at first, but quickly gathered her courage, "Hello Professor, Sir. How are you on this fine November day?"

Professor Snape gave a sharp retort, "Well," and strode back to the front of the classroom. The newcomer and her escort left the room, but her sunny disposition's effects on the students remained for the rest of the class, despite all of Snape's efforts to make them miserable.

The rest of the day flew by for Harry as he, Ron and Hermione thought of all the various reasons why the mysterious lady had suddenly appeared at the school. Nearly every class they went to, she seemed to appear in, meeting all the professors and leaving a trail of happiness wherever she went.

At the end of classes, Ron made a suggestion, "Why don't we go and try to find this lady and ask her a few things? It could be quite interesting!"

Harry nodded enthusiastically, "Sure, we could find out who she is and why she's here!"

Hermione held back, "I think we should just let her tell us when she is ready. Usually mysterious strangers are here for a reason- like hiding from something..." The boys looked at Hermione as though she was a slight bit insane.

"Aren't you the least bit curious, Hermione? Come on, lets go Harry," Ron broke the silence. Harry and Ron headed from their last classroom and began to walk down the hall to satisfy their curiosity.

Hermione called after them, "Hey, wait for me!" and dashed off after them.

Harry, Hermione and Ron searched the castle high and low, but there searched proved fruitless. The lady that had been ever-present in their classes was no where to be found. By that time, the school was ready to assemble for dinner in the Great Hall. The three friends walked into the Hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table. To their surprise, the young woman they had been tracking all day was sitting to the left of the Headmaster.

Dumbledore rose slowly and called for the attention of the students. His voice rang over Hermione's chatter and snapped Ron and Harry to the highest state of attention they had been at all day.

Hermione turned to face the Head Table just as the Headmaster began speaking, "My friends and students, as you have probably noticed, there has been a new face at our school today. My staff has already had the chance to meet her; now it is your turn. Everyone, allow me to introduce to you to Miss Annelise Marrion Schetzek, who will be teaching a Muggle Arts and Recreation class after regular school hours. We also have with us her daughter, Angelique Marie LeFay, who I believe is sitting at the Gryffindor table this evening. Please greet them with a warm welcome as you encounter them in the corridors. Anyone wishing to register for Miss Schetzek's class should leave a message for her posted on the message board outside the door of the first empty classroom when entering the first corridor of Floor four," he turned to Annelise, "Welcome," and then back to the students, "And let the feast begin!"

After dinner, Harry and Ron decided that they were going to try and talk to Miss Schetzek before she disappeared again. Hermione followed after them, just as curious as they were to find out why Miss Schetzek had appeared so suddenly at the school.

The three friends worked there way up to the Head Table and nearly ran into Hagrid, "Whoa there 'arry, where d'yeh think yer goin'?"

Harry paused for a second before dashing by, "We want to talk to Miss Schetzek!" Ron nodded in affirmation as Hermione and he attempted to catch up to a very purposeful Harry. They reached the Head Table as Annelise was lifting her child up to carry her on her hip.

They heard her speak, her soft, low voice filled with loving tones, "Angel dear, you are getting to old for this. You know, you are eight years old, I don't need to carry you anymore." For the first time, Harry noticed that she spoke with a softened American accent.

Angel responded to her mother with a smile, "Need to and want to mother are quite different things." Annelise smiled at her daughter.

Hermione turned to Harry, "We should go up there now- she isn't busy." Ron nodded at her suggestion. The three friends began there ascent up the stairs at the edge of the platform to finally speak with the newcomer, Miss Annelise Marrion Schetzek.

Harry led the way up the stairs, his head bent down watching the steps carefully as he ascended.

He turned toward where Annelise was standing, and nearly ran into Professor Snape, "Oh- sorry sir," Harry stammered, looking up at the less than pleased figure before him. Hermione and Ron came up beside Harry.

"What are you three doing up here? You know this platform is off limits to anyone but the instructors! Now, what do you want?" Professor Snape glared down on them.

Hermione spoke up, "We were hoping we would be able to speak with Miss Schetzek, sir."

Snape snapped back at her, "Well she's busy," and brushed past them as he went to the stairs to descent from the platform.

Annelise laughed lightly, her voice rising in its notes to a more musical level. Her tones were still fairly low, but graceful as she spoke to them.

She glanced in the direction Snape was heading. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had turned there back on her, and had begun to leave when she addressed them, "Oh don't worry dears, if this is 'off limits', then I'll come down there to you. If you are this eager to talk to me, then I can't just go and ignore you, can I?" Annelise looked at Angel, "You have to go down now- Mama's arms are getting tired," she let Angel hop down to the floor and walked over to the three friends, "I always have the time to meet new people. Is Professor Snape always so sour, or did I just catch him on a bad day?"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron all looked at one another and Ron answered for them all, "That was actually pleasant for him." Annelise laughed.

Angel spoke up, "I'd hate to have encountered him for the first time on a bad day- he frightened me at first!" Harry noticed that the child spoke with a distinct Irish accent.

He began the questions, "Why does she have such an Irish accent, when you sound like and American? Not that that is a bad thing, mind you..."

Annelise let out a small laugh, "She is my adopted child- I knew someone would ask, either because of the accents, or because our names are nothing alike. What else would you like to know?"

Hermione piped up, "Why are you here?"

Annelise responded a bit hesitantly, "I can tell you part of that now, and part of that is a secret between Albus and myself. The part I can tell you is that I have wanted to fine tune my skills for some time- I never went to any wizard school- the same for Angel. The other part must remain a mystery."

Ron chimed in, "Well, all three of us will be in your class- when does it start?" Harry and Hermione gave him a look of surprise, and then nodded their consent.

"As soon as I gather myself together and get a lesson plan laid out. Give me a week."

Hermione stepped up to Annelise, "Well it was nice to talk to you; we have to get back to the dorms now."

She shook Hermione's hand, "Pleasure to meet you," she shook Ron and Harry's hands, "And I look forward for seeing you all in class! Be sure to sign the door!" The three friends turned to walk to their dorms and as they did heard Annelise remark to her daughter, "Lovely people here dear, eh?"

Angel responded, "Yes, I'm sure glad you're working here now Mums, last place you told me about was unfriendly."

That night in the dorms the air was abuzz with students speculating where Miss Annelise Marrion Schetzek hailed from. Hermione, Harry, and Ron kept to themselves and were careful not to let any of their precious information out. The next day they rose early to sign the sheet on the empty classroom's door. To their surprise there was already a small crowd gathered to place names on the roster. Hermione slipped up to the front of the crowd to sign her name, along with Harry and Ron's on the sheet.

She came back to the boys with a smile on her face, "Well, there are quite a few names on that sheet already, hope she is good at controlling attention- Draco and his followers are already signed up."

Meanwhile in a moderately sized chamber in the dungeon, Annelise and Angel were attempting to unpack there precious few belongings. Annelise hung her hammock on the back wall with care, and Angel began to make her bed on a small enclosed observation platform above the door. Annelise set her sea chest below the hammock and her cedar clothes chest in the corner to the left of her bed concealed behind a red folding screen. There was a knock on the door to disturb the quiet of their unpacking.

Annelise opened the door a bit timidly, "Whose there? Oh, Professor Snape, sorry, do come in."

She opened the door wider to allow his entrance. "Thank you, but I was just checking to see why light was coming out from under the door. My classroom is the room one closer to the stairs from here. I trust there will be no untimely disturbances, Miss Schetzek?"

Annelise looked at Snape with a glint of amusement in her eye, "Do you honestly think that a refugee and her little Irish daughter can really cause that much trouble? And please, call me Anne."

Snape 'hmpf'ed under his breath, "Good day then?" "Wonderful wishes back to you," responded Anne. He left back to his classroom in a sullen silence. Anne couldn't help but be intrigued by this quiet man- she knew he was hiding something, but she had no concept of what it could be.

A week passed without event, and Harry was even more excited than before to join the company of the mysterious Miss Schetzek. The students were released from there last hour classes and a stampede of 29 students crowded to the once empty classroom.

The door of the room was enthusiastically opened by their new instructor who shouted above the din, "Take your seats, but be sure to be sitting by people who won't distract you- focus on your work is very important!" The clamour of the students died down a few minute later when Miss Schetzek took her place at the head of the classroom. The light from the windows on the side of the classroom opposite the door filled the room and glistened off Anne's tightly waved auburn hair, giving a halo effect around her head. A hush fell over the students. Draco raised his hand, "Yes, Mr. ... I'm sorry, I don't believe I know your name, I should probably take roll, shouldn't I?" Anne ran through roll exceptionally quickly, pronouncing all names clearly and correctly. She spoke, "So, Mr. Malfoy?" he nodded, "What were you wanting to say earlier? I'm sorry I interrupted your thoughts."

Draco spoke, "Well, I just wanted you to know that since my father is a very prominent figure in the wizard world, I would be careful about what you teach in this class." Crabbe and Goyle chuckled as he grinned slyly.

Anne responded coolly, "Do you warn all your teachers in this manner? For your information, intimidation does not work on me- I have been threatened enough in my day that I can take care of myself and never worry about what others think." Draco looked miffed.

Hermione beamed, "Miss Schetzek- have you ever encountered You-Know-Who?"

Anne laughed, "Please, call me Anne- there is no need for formality here. Yes dear, I have encountered the Dark Lord, and to tell you the truth I am not too fond of remembering the encounter. On a different note, shall we begin our class?" Many of the students nodded. "All right then, our first unit is going to be on the art of poetry. You can probably guess your first assignment- write a poem about yourself of about 10 lines or greater in length. It is due tomorrow. You have all this class hour to work on it. No late exceptions will be made. Have fun, be creative, and let yourself shine!" Anne smiled and sat down behind her mahogany desk. A new chapter in the 25 year old girl's life had begun...

The next day the students filed into Anne's classroom with a heavy silence. Anne noticed the change in her students from the day before as soon as they entered the bright classroom. She asked a general question as her students, "Why all the long faces, dears?" Harry and Draco raised there hands simultaneously. "Yes Harry, let us here what you have to say first, then we will hear Draco's version of the story."

Harry spoke up clearly, "In Professor Snape's class today we were supposed to be mixing a specific potion when Neville's experiment exploded."

Draco piped up, "It flew all over Professor Snape and it looked like he would explode next! Then he told Neville to leave the class." Harry flew a wicked glare at Draco.

Anne attempted to diffuse the situation, "Well, that would explain your glum looks- did he assign extra work tonight? I would assume that it was about an extra 30 pages?" The entire classroom nodded. She continued, "Well, I trust you all did your poems last night?" Half the class nodded, "For those of you who did, please pass them up." The rustle of papers sounded like the wind through the Dark Forest on a gentle Spring day. Anne collected all the poems in a neat little pile. "If any of you would like to share your poem, please feel free to volunteer!" No one raised their hands. Anne decided to progress on with the class. "Ok, well, let's continue on with our poetry unit-your next assignment will be to write a set of lyrics for a song of any appropriate topic. I hope that this assignment will be turned in with greater frequency than the last. Now, you have one day to complete this assignment." Anne sat down at her desk to begin grading Monday's assignments. The first one she read was Draco Malfoy's.

****

**_My Life as a Rich Man's Son_**  
I sit and do nothing  
When I am at home  
We have servants for that  
And I am often alone  
I get what I want  
I whine when I don't  
But something is still missing  
Can anyone tell me what?

Anne wrote on the page in her emerald green pen, "Wonderful, I hope you find your inner peace before it is too late." She proceeded onto Harry Potter's poem.

****

**_Home_**  
I have no home  
Not like the rest  
To school I roam  
And pass the test  
Of day to day life  
But the only place I find solace  
Is here  
At school  
With the only friends I have  
My family  
My teachers  
The only claim to home  
I have

Anne smiled sadly and penned another comment, "I hope that I can become a member to your family, Harry- love from friends is a powerful healer." Hermione's poem followed right behind Harry's.

****

**_Peace_**  
When shall I find it  
Where shall I find it  
How shall I find it  
Why shall I find it  
And can I find it soon  
Or do I have to wait  
Until the sun falls from the sky?

Then Anne continued reading through the rest of the poems. As the class progressed, the remainder of Monday's assignments trickled in. Anne counted them down by a half of a grade, and continued to grade the papers. By the end of the class period all of the assignments were in, and the students were humming tunes to their songs to themselves. Anne smiled softly as she finished her work and looked up on her busy class.

An hour had quickly passed and Anne rose to speak to her students, "Everyone, the hour allotted for our class has expired. I will have to dismiss you now, and I hope that your record for punctual handing-in of your work will improve tomorrow. Thank you! Have a wonderful evening!" The students began to gather their belongings and file out of the classroom. Anne was filled with a hope of a bright future at Hogwarts as all of her students left her class and went out to encounter tomorrow.

At dinner that night Anne was interested to find that the only seat remaining was beside the sullen potions master.

She approached with her best graces and tapped him gently on the shoulder, "Sir, is anyone sitting here?"

He quickly uttered, "No.”

Anne proceeded to ask, "May I?"

At this Snape uttered a short "Yes". She smiled softly and set herself gracefully in the chair. She waved to Angel among the mass of students and the day ended on a positive note.

Wednesday dawned with a vibrant set of colours that Anne gazed out on with awe. She had returned to her classroom to retrieve her papers from the night before, and the sky was visible from the huge windows of the room. She descended the stairs an hour later and passed by Professor Snape's classroom. As she did, she paused instinctively and glanced into the room. Snape was levitating a pile of books onto the top shelf of one of his high bookshelves. As he did, the pile began to topple. On a whim, he raised both arms to stop the pile from cascading down on top of him. The sleeves of his robes fell down as did the sleeves of his shirt below, revealing the Dark Mark on his arm. Anne gasped to herself and quickly passed by the door. Upon hearing her little gasp, he glanced at the door, then at his arm. He quickly shook his sleeve back over the Dark Mark and continued his work.

Anne walked back over to her room and found Angel sitting on the table doing potions work. Anne rubbed her left shoulder. It was all coming clear to her now. She'd heard of wizards returning from the Dark Arts hidden and covered by a shell hiding the past from both others and themselves. Anne began to understand the indecipherable Severus Snape.

That afternoon Anne's class was relatively uneventful. The homework flowed in and even a few students volunteered to sing their lyrics in front of the class. Anne was still contemplating what she had seen. Perhaps she and Snape were more similar than she had imagined.....

That evening at dinner, Anne once again sat at her place next to Professor Snape. She glanced over to the Gryffindor Table to see how her daughter was adjusting to her life at Hogwarts.

At the Gryffindor Table, Harry, Ron, and Hermione noticed Anne's young daughter sitting by herself among the first years.

Harry walked over to her, "Angelique?" she looked up at him shyly, "Do you want to come and sit with us? We would be happy to have you."

Angel beamed, "Oh, thank you- I think I'll take you up on that offer. And call me Angel- as Mums always says, 'No need for formality'!" Angel joined the three inseparable friends and began to chat with them as though she had known them from the beginning of time.

Hermione thought to herself, "This little girl is better company than most of Gryffindor House, younger or older."

Anne saw Angel joining Harry, Hermione, and Ron and remarked under her breath to herself, "Well, looks like we both are going to be all right here."

Snape turned to her, "Did you say something?"

Anne laughed lightly, "To myself, I just said that Angel and I seem to be all right here. She's happy, I'm happy- life is finally turning in a good direction!" Snape 'hmpf'ed' his acknowledgement and turned back to his meal. Anne smiled at his reaction and proceeded to remember all that she had seen earlier that day.

Thursday morning came all too soon. Anne dragged Angel out of bed and attempted to motivate her to get ready for classes. Anne got dressed in her long green velvet dress trimmed in gold braid around the neck, the hem, and the peaked sleeves. She took Angel up to breakfast and helped her to find her seat with Harry and his two friends. Anne herself was uninterested in breakfast and headed to her classroom to prepare for the day's work.

Anne walked quickly to her classroom. The morning sun shone brightly through the tall windows, creating a light and happy feeling in the room. She picked up her papers off her desk and noticed a small scrap of parchment lying on top of her notes.

_"Miss Schetzek- did you wish to ask me something the other day? ~Professor Snape"_

Anne smiled. Later she would go and ask him about his opinion on specific students, just to have something to ask him. She contemplated asking him outright about the Dark Mark, however she decided against that.

Anne prepared all day for a slightly more hectic assignment that afternoon. She arranged the desks in a circle around the room. That afternoon the students filed enthusiastically into the room and attempted to find their seats. Laughingly they shuffled around and finally settled into a random arrangement, with Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting in front of the windows, and Draco Malfoy and his 'gang' sitting across the room.

Anne took her place at the centre of the circle, "Ladies and Gentlemen, today we are doing something a little different today. Instead of working on a regular assignment, we will be setting up situations and poetically describing them and then describing them through prose. Who would like to go first? I need two people. Harry and Draco, you both raised your hands, why don't you both go first?" Anne smiled slyly. Draco and Harry both begrudgingly entered the centre of the room. Anne spoke, "Well, this should be interesting...," she drew a slip of paper from the copper cauldron on her desk, "'Two wizards are duelling- enact the duel and freeze on my mark.' Well, you two start acting." Harry and Draco both grabbed their wands from their desks. Draco began with the first spark, Harry countered it. Anne uneasily watched the two as they shot colourful sparks at one another. Then panic rose in her breast as Draco began to cast the leg-locking curse.

Harry dodged Draco's casting fairly easily, and countered with the full-body locking curse. Draco dodged and continued striking, Harry counterattacking. 

Anne shouted, "Freeze!" Harry froze, but Draco continued the attack. Hermione and Ron tensed and grabbed their wands. Anne shouted above the ensuing din, "EVERYONE, SIT DOWN!" Harry headed to his seat, as did Draco. Anne's eyes flashed with anger, "Mr. Malfoy! What on this Earth, in Heaven, or in Hell, possessed you to even contemplate turning my classroom into a ring in which you express personal grudges?!!!! You will be receiving a notice for detention and 50 points from Slytherin. Mr. Potter, I understand you were defending yourself, however I will be taking 10 points from Gryffindor as well for some of the counterattacks you performed. Class will be dismissed for today. Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, see me after class." The students began to file out of the classroom. Anne saw Draco attempting to slip out of the room, "Mr. Malfoy, if you leave this classroom even for one second you will be in detention for the rest of your short lived life!" Draco paused and returned to in front of the desk behind which Anne had retired. Anne glared at Draco, "You two displayed a primitive behaviour today, I expect better of 15 year olds. From the first years, perhaps I would expect this type of behaviour, but you, no. To keep your grade in this class from falling by 30 percentage points, you will be writing a page and a half essay on the _positive_ qualities of one another. It is due tomorrow. Be glad I am not as strict as Professor Snape, or you would end up expelled. Mr. Malfoy, you will be notified as of the time you will serve your detention and where. You are dismissed."

The students all began to file into the Great Hall for dinner at the end of the day. Anne found Professor Snape at the entrance of the Great Hall watching the students file to their respective tables.

She approached him quietly, "Professor Snape?" he tilted his head toward Anne, his eyes leading the path. His face showed mild annoyance at her interruption of his silence. She continued, "I need your advice- Draco Malfoy attacked Harry Potter today during an activity in my class today. What detention do you recommend?"

Snape sighed, "If you like, I will consult Minerva and Albus and I will assign a proper detention for Mr. Malfoy."

Anne breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, I am quite relieved that you are willing to help." He nodded curtly, and Anne smiled as she left to talk to her daughter and to then take her seat at the Head Table.

The dawn broke that Friday as Anne was filing papers in her classroom. She glanced out the window out of instinct at the light in the sky and noticed that the crisp December wind was cutting through the courtyard carrying large, downy snowflakes on its icy tendrils. Anne smiled.

As she returned to her filing, she heard a light rapping on the door, "Yes? Enter if you will!" Her cheerful disposition welcomed Angel into the classroom. Angel came to Anne and climbed up into her lap. They shared a hug and Angel left the room to encounter her daily adventures in the classes at Hogwarts.

Anne continued her work and another tapping floated to her ears from the heavy door, "Enter!" Anne looked up and saw Dumbledore enter her classroom. She rose to greet him, "How can I be of service to you, Headmaster?" Anne asked. He smiled and began to tell her of his plans for her classroom observation for the upcoming week.

Anne watched her students file into the classroom that afternoon.

They sat down anxiously as she whistled to begin the class, "I have an announcement to make. Next week we will be graced by the presence of Professor Snape in this class. He will be observing my teaching upon the orders of Dumbledore. I hope that this will not make any of you uncomfortable, and I trust that you will behave in the same manner that you would if it were a normal week. I will be dismissing you in a few minutes to go and fetch your coats, scarves, and other winter clothing. I noticed it has snowed two feet today and is still snowing. This means we play. I will be taking attendance upon our arrival in the Entry Hall, and expect you all to be there in 15 minutes. Class temporarily dismissed." The students excitedly leapt from their seats and vaulted to the door. Anne smiled.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione raced as fast as was physically possible back to Gryffindor House. A teacher who was endorsing a snow day as a class was definitely an unusual occurrence and they wanted to make the most of their Golden Opportunity.

The class met in the Entry Hall with little event. Anne took roll and proceeded to instruct her class on the art of a snowball fight, "All right, here are a few rules: 1) no fist fights or other physical confrontations, this is supposed to be fun; 2) please do not put ice, rocks, or anything but snow in the snowballs, this is not supposed to injure anyone; 3) have fun, be merciful, and if I see any of you intentionally injuring any of your classmates, either physically or emotionally, I will see to it that you are punished to the full degree of whatever the worst I can think of happens to comprise of. Now, let the battle begin!” The students stampeded outside with a roaring cheer unsurpassed by anything Anne had ever heard.

Angel ran up to her, "Mum, can I join in?" Anne smiled and nodded as she pitched a snowball curve ball style at Draco.

Anne felt a snowball smack the back of her neck. She whirled around and heard Angel laughing at her. Anne gave Angel a mischievous grin. She pummelled Angel with a pair of snowballs and nearly knocked Angel off her feet. Angel retaliated and the battle began.

Meanwhile back near the school, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were hunting one another with cunning and stealth. Harry nailed Ron from behind, causing him to spin around and smack Harry with a snowball the size of a softball. The front door of the school opened. Ron couldn't see who opened it, but Hermione was on the other side of the doorway, so whoever it was, Ron thought, would just have to be careful. His snowball sailed through the air in a perfect arc, smacking the unsuspecting Professor Snape in the side of his face. Ron shirked back in fear as Snape turned slowly toward him as he wiped away the melting slush. Anne, having witnessed the event, began to laugh. Snape shot her a glance that could have frozen over Hell itself.

She spoke through her laughter, "Professor Snape, it won't hurt you, unless you're made of sugar, but I highly doubt that you're sugary sweet and will dissolve!" She continued laughing as he turned quickly to the door and entered into the school. Anne looked at Ron, "That probably wasn't the best thing to say to the man who is observing my class next week, eh?" Ron shook his head and nailed Hermione with a snowball having the beautiful arc that his original one had possessed.

Dinner that night was fairly silent as she sat next to Snape, hoping that he would forget her comment by Monday.

Anne awoke the next morning to Angel's voice, "Mum, wake up, you can't sleep any longer- it's nearly noon!" Anne raised her eyelids to the light of the torches lighting her room. Anne sat up and stretched her arms. She grabbed her clothes and headed up to the showers to freshen up for her busy planning day. Everything would have to be perfect for her observation next week.

After her shower, Anne walked to her classroom to collect her attendance book and her notebooks of class plans. She returned to her chamber to find Angel lying on her stomach on the table. She was pouring over her first year Potions work. Anne had encouraged Angel to attend classes, despite the fact she would be required to retake them upon her official induction to Hogwarts. It was good practice, and Angel also was able to meet other students. 

Angel called her mother over to the table, "Mums, I am completely puzzled over this chart, what on Earth do all these symbols mean? I can’t recall if we ever covered it, and the work is due on Monday. Can you help?" 

Anne shook her head, "Sorry hon, I don't get it either. Ask Professor Snape- maybe he would be willing to help you." Angel gave her mother a look that asked if she was insane, and that doubted if Snape would even consider helping her, both at the same time. Anne shrugged her shoulders, "Asking never killed anyone Angel, and it's the only way to know if he'll help." Anne ran a brush through her hair. "Come on now dear, worry about this after lunch."

As the pair approached the Great Hall for lunch, Harry, Ron, and Hermione met up with Angel. They walked off together to the Gryffindor table while Anne made her way to the Head Table. 

Upon taking her seat, she turned to an already seated Professor Snape, "Professor, may I have a word with you?" he nodded curtly, "For starters, I'm sorry about my comment yesterday, during the snowball fight? Forgive me? I feel really badly about it," Snape looked at her and nodded his acceptance, "Secondly, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping Angel with her Potions work- she is quite frustrated and is a bit shy about asking you herself." 

Snape responded after a moment's contemplation, "I would be willing to help this afternoon from about fouruntil just prior to Dinner, in my office." Anne thanked Snape with genuine sincerity and waved to Angel who had been trying to catch her eye.

After lunch, Anne was waylaid by Minerva McGonagall. She was slightly concerned because of Snape's report of the attack. Anne was quick to assure her that Snape had accepted her apology and all was set to rights.

Angel meet Anne back at their quarters and Anne was quick to report her conversation with Snape. Angel was slightly reluctant, however Anne was sure to assure her that it was a good measure of friendship to be extended, and she was to accept help graciously.

Four o’clock came and Angel stepped next door to the dungeon in which Snape taught. She knocked on his office door and was invited to enter quickly. Anne smiled softly and left the doorway to the classroom to pursue her planning for next week's classes.

Dinner time came, and Anne made her way to the Great Hall. She was surprised that on her arrival neither Snape nor Angel were in their respective seats. She took the opportunity to ask Dumbledore if she could have a moment of his time. The history of Professor Snape lay heavy on her mind and she was determined to discover where he had been previous to his employment at Hogwarts. She returned to her seat to see Professor Snape and Angel entering the Hall. Angel skipped over to the Gryffindor Table, anxious to share her new knowledge with anyone who would listen.

After the meal, Anne approached the Headmaster and they stepped aside to talk. She placed her question and awaited his reply. 

Dumbledore smiled softly, "My dear Anne, that is something that only Severus is licensed to tell. When and if he ever wished to disclose that information to you is completely up to him. Do not press the matter, it would serve best to bide your time." Anne thanked him for his advice and went to attempt to find Angel among the mass of students flowing out of the Great Hall.

Angel called out to Anne as she exited the Great Hall, "Mum, guess what?" 

"Heaven knows, Angel, but wait and tell me until you're closer; the entire school doesn't need to hear." Angel approached her mother. 

She bounced up and down as she stood before Anne, "Mums, I just helped a whole load of first years with their homework, I am so happy, and you were right, Professor Snape was a huge lot of help. Thanks Mums!" 

Anne laughed, "Well dear, I guess you learned a few things today," Angel tipped her head inquisitively, "Number one, you learned what all those symbols meant, and now you can share your knowledge with everyone, including your old mum; number two, asking has never killed anyone to date, and it can sometimes prove beneficial." 

Angel laughed, "Let's get ready for bed, I'm exhausted." Anne nodded her head in agreement and the pair made their way to their dungeon apartment.

Sunday morning dawned earlier than Anne would have liked, and she groaned as her eyes adjusted to the light of the chamber. Angel had lit the torches and was busy brushing out her wet hair in a corner. Anne dragged herself out of her hammock and walked over to her clothing chest. She pulled out her simple black dress and went up to shower and change. Sunday promised to be a very relaxing day.

After Anne returned to her chamber, Angel began to inquire as to whether or not they were attending church that morning. 

Anne sighed deeply, "Angel dear, I'm afraid that Hogwarts has no Sunday Services. Would you like it if we held our own?" Angel smiled and nodded. Prior to finding Hogwarts, Anne and Angel had found refuge within the walls of many churches. Angel was quite fond of spending Sunday mornings in the Services and, like Anne, had found them quite comforting after running all week. Anne and Angel sat down. 

Anne spoke, "Well dear, what all do you have in the way of praises this blesséd morn?" Angel replied that she was glad to have found friends, a home, a school, and a much calmer existence. Anne smiled. She gave thanks for many of the same things, and in addition that they were no longer running and Angel was happy where they had ended up. The pair ran through prayer requests, and then prayed together. Anne asked for guidance and for continued protection from the evil from which they were escaping. Then Angel went to Anne's old sea chest and pulled out a songbook. Anne's voice penetrated the cool air of the lower levels of Hogwarts as a warm breeze cuts through the night in the Spring. Angel joined her.

_Lord prepare me_  
_To be a sanctuary_  
_Pure and Holy_  
_Tried and True_  
_With Thanksgiving_  
_I'll be a living_  
_Sanctuary_  
_For You_

Professor Snape heard the harmonizing voices drift through the walls of his classroom as he organized his lesson plans for the coming week. Listening to the pair sing with a joy and hope in their voices seemed odd to him- no one running from anything ever was happy, as far as he had seen. These two were definitely different. The songs continued.

_Be thou my vision_  
_Oh Lord of my heart_  
_Be all else but naught to me_  
_Save that thou art_  
_Be thou my best thought_  
_By day or by night_  
_Waking or sleeping_  
_Thy presence my might_

Angel turned the pages in the book. "Here Mum, let's sing this one!" Anne smiled, "All right Angel, that is an excellent choice. Perfect..."

_Joyful, joyful we adore thee_  
_God of Glory, Lord of Love_  
_Hearts unfold like flow'rs around thee_  
_Op'ning to the Sun above_  
_Melt the clouds of Sin and Sadness_  
_Drive the dark of Doubt away_  
_Giver of Immortal Gladness_  
_Fill us with the light of day!_

 _All Thy works with joy surround Thee_  
_Earth and Heav'n reflect Thy rays_  
_Stars and Angels sing around Thee_  
_Centre of unbroken Praise_  
_Field and Forest_  
_Vale and Mountain_  
_Flow'ry Meadow_  
_Flashing Sea_  
_Chanting Bird and Flowing Fountain_  
_Call us to rejoice in Thee_

 _Thou art giving and forgiving_  
_Ever blessing_  
_Ever Blest_  
_Wellspring of the joy of living_  
_Ocean depth of Happy rest_  
_Thou our Father_  
_Christ our Brother_  
_All who live in love are thine_  
_Teach us how to love each other_  
_Lift us to the Joy divine_

 _Mortals join the mighty chorus_  
_Which the morning stars began_  
_Love divine is reigning o'er us_  
_Brother Love joins man to man_  
_Ever singing_  
_March we onward_  
_Victors in the midst of Strife_  
_Joyful Music leads us sunward_  
_In the triumph song of Life!_

As they concluded the last verse, Snape heard a joy and power in their voices increase. The line containing 'victors in the midst of Strife' seemed especially potent, and if Snape had been one to hold those kinds of things as relevant, he may have held onto the notion that the little family felt that Hogwarts was the end of a long and hard journey. Snape, however, being who he was, let the notion drop soon after his mind had conceived it.

Angel and Anne continued their Service with a favourite passage and a discussion of what it meant. Both of them had been clinging to the hope that in Christ all things can be made anew and that a past filled with regrets could be erased and forgiven.

Angel loved to read the Resurrection story to her mother, reminding her that, "If Jesus can forgive his own killers, then He's going to do the same for you!" 

Anne smiled and hugged Angel, "Well dear, why don't we finish with one last song?" 

Angel nodded enthusiastically, "You pick, Mums!" Anne opened the songbook and began to sing.

_I heard an old old story_  
_How a Saviour came from Glory_  
_How he gave his life_  
_On Calvary_  
_To save a wretch like me_  
_I heard about His groaning_  
_Of his precious Blood's atoning_  
_Then I repented of my Sin and won the Victory!_  
  
_Oh Victory in Jesus_  
_My saviour forever_  
_He sought me_  
_And bought me_  
_With his redeeming Blood_  
_He loved me ere I knew him_  
_And all my love is due him_  
_He plunged me_  
_To victory_  
_Beneath the cleansing flood_

 _I heard about His healing_  
_Of His cleansing pow'r revealing_  
_How he made the lame_  
_To walk again_  
_And caused the blind to see_  
_And then I cried 'Dear Jesus_  
_Come and heal my broken Spirit'_  
_And somehow Jesus came and bro't to me the Victory!_

 _Oh Victory in Jesus_  
_My saviour forever_  
_He sought me_  
_And bought me_  
_With his redeeming Blood_  
_He loved me ere I knew him_  
_And all my love is due him_  
_He plunged me_  
_To victory_  
_Beneath the cleansing flood_  
  
_I heard about a mansion_  
_He has built for me in Glory_  
_And I heard about the streets of Gold_  
_Beyond the Crystal Sea_  
_About the Angels singing_  
_And the old redemption story_  
_And some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of Victory!_

 _Oh Victory in Jesus_  
_My saviour forever_  
_He sought me_  
_And bought me_  
_With his redeeming Blood_  
_He loved me ere I knew him_  
_And all my love is due him_  
_He plunged me_  
_To victory_  
_Beneath the cleansing flood_

 _Oh Victory in Jesus_  
_My saviour forever_  
_He sought me_  
_And bought me_  
_With his redeeming Blood_  
_He loved me ere I knew him_  
_And all my love is due him_  
_He plunged me_  
_To victory_  
_Beneath the cleansing flood_

Snape paused as their singing grew stronger on their second time through the chorus. The voices blended perfectly and seemed to be the sweetest thing he had heard in quite a long while. He paused his work to listen as there voices trailed off on the last note, leaving the air ringing with song. Snape rose from his desk and approached the door to his chamber.

Anne and Angel closed their Service with saying the Our Father. As they said Amen, there came a knock at their door. 

Anne stood from her seat at the table, "Enter, the door is unlocked." She turned to Angel, "Angel dear, finish up your homework from Minerva, you got everything else done, if I am not mistaken?" Angel nodded. 

Anne turned her attention to her guest, "Professor Snape, what a pleasant surprise! Can I help you?" His eyes skirted the small, sparsely furnished room. He cleared his throat. "Professor?" Anne addressed him, "Is something wrong?" 

He shook his head, "No, that music...was that coming from here?" 

She smiled, "Yes, Angel and I were singing, were we disturbing you?" 

He responded shortly, "No, as long as it only happens once in a while."

Anne laughed, "Only on Sunday mornings."

At lunch that day, Anne sat with Angel at the Gryffindor Table. She was glad to hear Angel chatting excitedly to Hermione about their singing earlier in the morning.

Hermione gasped when Angel came to the part in her story where, "with a sharp rapping on the door, Professor Snape entered!" Angel continued the tale, and Hermione was much relieved that Snape refrained from skinning either one of them. She seemed as surprised as her little storyteller when she heard of Snape's reaction to their songs. 

Anne finished her soup and walked over to them, "Angel, I'm going to speak to the Headmaster, I'll be right back."

Ron and Harry engaged in a game of Wizard's chess after finishing their meal. Angel was captivated by the moving pieces and insisted that she get a chance to play the winner of Harry and Ron's game. The boys looked sceptically at one another. 

Angel noticed their glances and retorted, "I can beat Mum at Muggle chess, so I should do fairly well in Wizard's chess. I like strategy games, they make my mind stronger." 

Anne walked up behind Harry and whispered to him, "No mercy on Angel, she's sharp for and eight year old."

The rest of the day was spent playing in the snow with Angel and waging full scale snow war on Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Angel had become slightly cocky after nearly winning to Ron in Wizard's chess, and Ron decided that pummelling her with snow was a friendly way to extend the competition. Angel agreed to that after she had been smacked in the back with a snowball the size of a small cat. She responded, of course, with a snowball pitched as a split finger fastball. Ron never had a chance, waging snow war against a little Irish girl with an attitude and competitive spirit that only the Celts have.

Soaked and exhausted, the lively troupe retired from their game at sundown and readied themselves for dinner. Anne and Angel walked in together, smiling and greeting everyone living or dead that they encountered. Angel beamed her brightest smile at Draco as they passed the Slytherin Table. 

He sneered at her, "Well look here, what do we have? The little almost Wizard's chess champion, so you think you are better than those of us who have been here for five years, hey?" Anne turned and watched the ensuing argument. She had learned over her three years with Angel that the girl preferred to fight her own battles, and usually won them too. Angel glared through him. Draco continued his attack, "With that hair, one might think you were a Weasley, I bet you're the youngest, and they just couldn't afford to keep you..." he tried to touch Angel's hair, so she smacked his arm. He glared at her, "On second thought, maybe you're just a common Mudblood." 

Angel's pretty countenance burned with anger, her accent strengthening as she let her guard down and her defenceful defiance filter through her voice "If you ever call me Mudblood again, you _will_ learn to regret the day you were born. On my mother's side I am descended not only from Don Dorcha, the wizard of the evil darkness, but also from Lady Morrighan herself! On my father's side I am a proud descendent of the sorceress Morgan LeFay, and also of the Celtic warrior Finn MacCumhail! Never insult my blood, brought together by Queen Mab, the sorceress who cleared the path for Mordred, who caused Le Morte de Arthur. To figure out how they are interwoven, ask me later, when the blood which you have insulted stops boiling." Angel turned on her heels and returned to her mother. Her tirade had attracted the attention of many other students who burst into cheers. Angel had stood up to Draco Malfoy, an act that would not be forgotten.

Anne took her seat at the Head Table beside Professor Snape, the motherly pride in her swelling. 

He turned to her, "Why are you so happy?" his dry tone asking what right she had to such joy. 

Anne responded with her head held high, "My girl Angel just defended every ounce of her pure blood self against Malfoy and his attempt to bring her down. As she once told me, 'No one back home ever dared insult a LeFay.' She has revealed why." Snape hmpf'ed at her reasoning and she shook her head. Gazing off to the Gryffindor Table she saw students as old as seventh years applauding and congratulating the bold temper of little Angelique.

After the Great Hall cleared out, Anne remained there with Angel. She enchanted the air to play soft music and the two began to practice ballet. They gracefully leapt and turned across the floor with such ease that anyone who saw them would have believed them to have been faeries. Coming back from the kitchen was Hermione. She stopped at hearing the music floating from the Great Hall and curiously glanced into the large room. She watched as Anne took the time to realign Angel's positioning on an arabesque. 

Anne called to her, "Hermione! Come on in, you can join us if you wish." 

Hermione stepped into the Hall, "I'd love to join you, but I have never danced a step of ballet in my life." 

Anne smiled, "Then let me teach you."

Hermione entered Gryffindor House late that night, under Anne's escort. Anne explained to the house Prefect what they had been up to, and he let Hermione off to bed without any chastisement.

Anne woke eagerly at 6:00 Monday morning, and to her surprise, Angel had not yet awakened. She was excited to have an observer in her class this week, even if it was the sullen Professor Snape. She climbed into the little loft Angel slept in that was suspended six feet in the air just to the left of the entryway when facing into the room. 

She shook Angel by the shoulders and Angel turned over to face the wall, "C'mon Ang', this is my big day, wake up and help me get ready!" 

Angel groaned and sat up, "Fine, but you _have_ to wear what I decide, deal?" 

Anne laughed, "As long as it's decent."

Angel looked at Anne with a mischievous, but still half asleep eye, "Dang." 

Anne jumped down from the loft and called to Angel, "If you come down we'll shake on it!" Angel crawled to the edge of the loft and clamoured down the rope ladder. 

She looked her mother in the eye, her red hair flying everywhere, "Deal." 

Anne walked over to her clothing chest, "Remember, decent, I'm being observed today." 

Angel dug into the chest, "So you want to look hot so your critique will be spectacular. Got it." 

Anne laughed, slightly surprised at Angel's suggestion, _"Angelique_! Perhaps you forget who I am being critiqued by. No I am not wearing the little red dress, or the green one with the twenty buttons and the strap." Angel pulled out the two dresses Anne referred to and put them aside. 

She pulled out a streamline midnight blue velvet dress with spaghetti straps, and a silver vine and leaf pattern running up one side, "Here Mum, wear this with your long butterfly sleeved robes- the ones that float around you and are open in the front- that will look lovely. Maybe put your hair up too!" 

Anne smiled, "The dress, yes, this hair, keep talking and you might convince me to do something with it."

Anne skipped lunch and went to the kitchen after the students and staff had returned to class. She had latched the front of her robes closed with an antique silver scarab broach to prevent anyone from seeing her dress before her class assembled that afternoon. Upon entering the kitchen she noticed all the house elves sitting down to their own lunches. 

One of them got up, "How may Dobby help you?" Anne laughed lightly, "Sit down, I can get my own lunch- you finish yours before worrying about me." 

A house elf wearing a little blouse and a little skirt walked up to her, "Winky is done with her lunch; Winky will help!” 

Anne gave in, "All right, can you help me make a tuna sandwich and a strawberry smoothie?" 

Winky nodded enthusiastically, "Winky will be glad to help you make these things!" Anne and Winky worked together and once Anne's lunch was done, she leaned up against the counter to eat with the house elves. She talked with them for the greater part of an hour, suggesting various recipes for them to try. They seemed most intrigued with the thought of making a pizza, so Anne copied the recipe for them out of her memory and gave it to her captivated audience. 

Winky called after her as her left, "When Anne's Fat Tuesday comes, Anne will have to teach Winky and Winky's friends how to make Anne's paçzki's!"

As Anne made her way to her classroom, she ran into Harry, who was on an errand for his divinations teacher. 

He stopped to talk to her, "Hey, Anne! Be wary of divinations, that Professor will make up a past for you if she doesn't know one offhand- it's kind of weird." Anne laughed, and assured Harry that nothing his divinations teacher made up could compare to the past that she already had.

Anne finally made it to her classroom and she began to make sure everything was set up just right for her first day of observation. She was determined to get a favourable review, even if it was going to be like squeezing blood out of a stone. As she arranged the papers on her desk into piles of things to hand back and things to hand out, Anne realized that she had left her planbook on her table in her chamber. Anne made her way back to her room as quickly and quietly as possible, careful not to arouse any attention as she passed classrooms full of students. She passed the Potions lab and heard Snape bellowing at someone who had apparently blown up their cauldron. It would defiantly be an interesting class, if nothing else.

Anne sat on the edge of her desk awaiting the arrival of the tick of the clock on the hour. She was more than ready for her class to start, and the wait began to eat at her nerves. There came a knock at the door that nearly sent Anne through the roof. 

As she attempted to lower her heart rate back down to an acceptable number she called out to her guest, "Enter dear, whoever you be!" The door opened and Professor Snape entered the room. He nodded to her, she to him, and took a seat at a large desk in the back left corner of the classroom. The clock ticked over to the hour and Anne opened the door with her hand-magic to let her students flow in.

After she let her students settle down and chat for a brief moment, Anne stood up and whistled for their attention, "Well, now that you are all captivated by my whistle, which, by the way, has been known to fracture eardrums, we should get down to work- we have a whole lot of things to do today! So, for starters, here are your papers from last week." Anne asked Hermione to aid her in passing them back, and then continued to speak, "Today we are continuing our poetry unit with Limericks! These fun little poems can be on any topic you choose, as long as I could read it to Angel and they follow the standard format. I am passing out a sheet here that has both the criteria for this assignment, and the criteria for the next assignment. An example of a limerick is also on the sheet. You will be given about twenty minutes to work on limericks, and then I will talk to you about the poem of address.

The twenty minutes seemed to fly by without incident. Anne was enthralled at how well her observation was going. Hopefully the day would continue on in an error free manner and Anne prayed for a good review. As she rose to begin instructing her class on the next poem, she heard a scuffle from the centre of the classroom. Crabbe and Goyle were, as far as Anne could tell, stealing Neville Longbottom's work off his desk. Neville was attempting to resolve the problem quietly, but all his efforts were in vain. Anne walked down the aisle to see what exactly was occurring. 

Goyle and Crabbe were turned around to Draco, who took the limericks and laughed, "You call this poetry, Longbottom? My father knows people who write better than this in the Ministry! Who are you trying to impress?" At this point Anne stood in front of Goyle and Crabbe's desks. 

She caught Malfoy's eye and spoke in a voice filled with quiet power, "Here, give those to me." By this time, Neville was turning a bright shade of red. She perused through the limericks, impressed by Neville's choice of words, and his light style. She handed the works back to him with a smile, "Are these the final copies?" 

Neville shook his head, "No- please, I don't mean to be a problem..." 

Anne's smile filled with warmth beyond her usual kind countenance, "Neville, these are wonderful- don't over-revise them." Neville glanced up at her in disbelief and wonder. Anne walked back to the front of the room and turned to the class. "Well, next up is your poem of address. It will be due on Thursday, and may be to anyone, on any single topic. The rest of the guidelines, as well as an example are on the handout I gave you earlier.

As Anne returned to her desk, she pondered what stunt Malfoy would attempt to pull next. She thought that having Snape in the room would reduce the probability of these types of occurrences, but apparently she was mistaken. The students worked quietly as the clock ticked over the time. Anne breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the clock. There were ten short minutes left of class. Anne felt a calm sweep over her. She did not believe that anything bad could happen in merely ten minutes.

Harry heard the skritching of quills as the other students wrote furiously before the class ended. Harry had begun drafting three poems to different people, and all three sat on his desktop, all competing for the honour of being chosen as Harry's poem. One of them addressed his parents, one of them addressed his friends, and the last one addressed Voldemort. Since Harry was indecisive, he decided to write all three poems to their endings, and then to see which one Anne thought he should turn in.

There came a knock on the door that made Anne jump. 

She called to whoever her guest was, "Enter at your own risk!" She laughed to herself. Two figures entered, both dressed in black robes. Anne recognized the man from her past life: they were Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.

Lucius spoke, "Miss Schetzek, may we speak to you for a moment, please?" He was not unkind in his tone, and Anne swore that she saw recognition in his eyes. She nodded. The pair approached her desk and began questioning her about the goals of her class- were they honourable, did they set out a line dividing the Muggle world from the Wizardry world, had the plans been approved by the Headmaster, and so forth. The Malfoys were known for their strong anti-Muggle sentiments, and Anne was sure that this was the reason they were questioning her so. Lucius then began to ask Anne about Angel and her lofty bloodlines. Anne confirmed Angel's history for the Malfoys, who seemed convinced that the class and its teacher were harmless. They began to leave, Anne feeling relieved that the questioning was not unfriendly. 

Draco's voice rose out of the body of students, "What, that's it?" The Malfoy's paused as there son spoke. 

Narcissa turned toward him, "What else were you expecting?" 

He glared at Anne, "Well, why the sudden arrival? Where did she come from? Why is she here? I bet all this teacher stuff is just a cover up. Why else would she come here in the middle of the year? I bet she's running from something..." Draco paused and turned toward Anne, "Or someone..... I bet you are, aren't you?" The question hung in the air like a dense fog enshrouding the classroom. Anne was uneasy behind her desk- the colours drained from her already fair skin. She turned her eyes toward Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Narcissa regarded her with a concerned look. 

Kindly she spoke, "Miss, are you running?" 

Anne nodded her head and sighed, "Yes Ma'am, I did come here for shelter- it is hard to raise a child when one is running and living on the streets." 

Draco spoke under his breath to Crabbe and Goyle, "Wonder who from....Goyle, Crabbe- are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Crabbe and Goyle stared at Draco as though he had just asked them what the meaning of life was. He gave them an exasperated glare and sighed, "You two just don't get it. Who do you _think_ she'd be running from?" Lucius Malfoy stepped up beside Anne's desk.

He quietly spoke to her while looking her in the eyes, "From whom?"

Anne lowered her chin, "I would prefer not to say- it is a personal matter and I would like to keep it that way." She raised her head once again, her eyes slightly saddened. Despite the woeful look her eyes held, a soft smile still graced her lips. She sighed deeply, as if she were trying to regain her centre of calm. Draco's voice cut the silence in the room. 

Lucius' head snapped to look at his son. "I bet I can tell you who she is running from." All eyes turned to Draco, he smirked and continued on, "Well, the only reason I see that she would be running was if her life was at stake. Why though is she hesitant to tell us a name? If it was someone who we would have never heard of, there would be no problem, right?" Draco's friends nodded and murmured their agreement, "So logically it would be someone we have _all_ heard of........I think she's running from You-Know-Who.......I think our Miss Schetzek is a former Death Eater."

A shocked silence hung in the air for a few agonizing seconds. 

Narcissa Malfoy bent a concerned eye toward Anne, "Is it true? Is that why you came here?" Anne paused for a moment and sighed deeply. She stood up from her desk and turned to the Malfoys, her left side facing the students. She carefully unclasped her scarab broach holding her robes closed. The free cloth fluttered down to its natural position. Anne gracefully let her robes fall from her shoulders to reveal her truth to the world.

Hermione sat stone still in her seat as Anne let her robes drift off her shoulders, _"It can't be true, this is all a misunderstanding- there is nothing there..."_ Hermione attempted to convince herself that her thoughts were the truth; in her stomach she felt a strange uneasiness.

Ron stared at the scene before him, shock echoing in his eyes. He was not thinking anything; his mind was a blank slate. His gut churned with the accusation that their beloved Miss Schetzek could have had a past so dark that only the Dark Lord could have tainted it so.

Harry felt an intense anger boiling in his veins. The accusations were not true, could not be true, and had never been true. He felt like hitting Draco and watching his face contort in pain at the strike. Harry refused to believe that the sweet, motherly woman teaching his class could have ever had any connection to the murdering villain that had so ruthlessly slain his parents.

Anne's shoulders were bared to everyone intently studying her. There on her left arm was a mark so hideous that many of the students averted their eyes upon its revelation. The Dark Mark stood out in stark contrast to Anne's fair skin. Draco laughed triumphantly. 

The Malfoys turned and left the room quickly and Anne addressed her class, struggling to control the emotions seeping through her quivering voice, "I'm sorry that today culminated to this- you are dismissed for today, class _will_ be meeting tomorrow, despite this unfortunate turn of events. We will not let that which we cannot change alter our current course of action. Thank you." Anne drifted over to her desk and slowly sank into her chair, the inquisition of the class taking its toll on her already frazzled disposition. The students began to murmur among themselves as they left the classroom, some of them glancing warily over their shoulders at Anne as they passed. The door softly fell shut after the last student filed out of the room. Anne sighed deeply and, with her arms lying crossed on the desk, let a small tear roll from the corner of her eye. She laid her chin on her hands as more delicate tears gently fell down her face like a soft rain. She stared at the air ahead of her, not seeing Professor Snape slowly rise to his feet at the back of the classroom. He drifted to the front of the room towards Anne's desk, his footsteps barely audible in the silent classroom. She felt his presence by the side of the desk. He hesitated before heading to the door.

Snape thought to himself as he stood beside Anne's desk, _"Should I offer some sort of consolation? If so, what?"_ He slowly raised his hand and softly laid it on her shoulder. For a brief moment he let it rest there before letting it drift back down to his side and leaving the room. Tomorrow was another day, perhaps the storm would have calmed by then.

Angel approached the Great Hall that evening with apprehension. She had been hearing rumours that the Malfoys had spoken to her mother and in the course of the discussion her mother's past had somehow been revealed. 

Angel realized she was already late for dinner as Harry and Ron ran by her. "Angel, come on- we need to be in there before Dumbledore starts talking!" Ron said as he passed. Angel snapped out of her thoughts and rejoined reality as she followed the boys into the Great Hall.

From the Head Table Snape could see three students scrambling to find their seats before the meal. With greater investigation he observed that it was Harry, Ron, and Anne's daughter. He pondered her name for a moment. Failing to find it in his memory, he shook his head, clearing it of the thought.

Meanwhile Anne rose from her desk in her classroom and left the room. Her papers were still spread across her desk, and they would be there tomorrow when her mind was clearer. She slowly walked down to her chamber, changed into her night-dress, and laid down in her hammock to fall asleep. Hopefully her dreams would be kind and let her forget the incidents of the day since past.

Tuesday morning came faster than Anne would have liked. She woke up later than usual, noticing that Angel had already gone to her first class of the day. She hoped in her deepest of hearts that Angel would not catch the repercussions of her past and its revelation. She dragged herself out of bed and went to her clothes chest. She pulled out her black velvet dress and slipped into it. She brushed out her hair until its waves glistened in the torch light of the chamber. Having missed breakfast, Anne decided to pay a visit to the kitchen. She quickly walked to the kitchen, hoping not to run into anyone as she went. She slipped through the door and into the kitchens. The smell of fresh baked bread filled the room, its homely feel calming Anne's troubled spirit. 

Winky ran over to Anne, "Winky has heard of Anne's unfortunate class yesterday. Can Winky help Anne?" Anne smiled. The kindness of Winky's offer was reassuring to her as she seated herself next to the counter. 

Dobby brought Anne a slice of warm bread, "Here, Dobby has always felt better when Dobby has new bread." Anne's smile deepened. A small crowd of house elves watched her eat. They seemed to be waiting for something. 

Anne finished the slice, "Wünderbar, absolutely wonderful......Thank you. I am glad you're not afraid to help." 

A short house elf with at little tuft of bright red hair sticking out on top of his head stepped forward, "Bob is never afraid to help, Bob knows that once Bob was free from a bad master, house elves thought Bob was bad too, but Bob is not bad, Bob is good!" 

Anne's smile grew, "Well, I'm glad you all are so kind- I worry though that if the others at Hogwarts cannot see me so forgivingly that I may have to leave. I really don't want to run again, but I don't want Angel to have to stay here if we are not loved........decisions, decisions...." The house elves began to mutter between themselves. 

Winky stepped forward, "Anne cannot leave! If Anne has to stop teaching, Anne can come and help Winky, Dobby, Bob, and the other house elves in the kitchen!" Anne thanked them considerably. She then excused herself from their company, reassuring them that she would let them know what was happening as the days passed. Anne left the kitchens with a renewed and determined hope, making her way to her classroom to set up. She would not let anything stop her; Angel was not going to have to leave Hogwarts.

Anne opened the door to her classroom and stepped inside. Her desk was scattered with papers left there from the day before. She opened a cabinet under her desk and pulled out her antique crank start phonograph. She set it on top of a coffee table set beside her desk. Anne pulled out a box of cylinders to play on the machine. She placed one of them on the spindle and cranked the phonograph to start it. The silver notes of _She Moved Through the Fair_ filled the room as Anne sorted through the clutter on her desk, preparing herself for the study of the Romantic era of poetry to take place in her classroom later that day.

Five minutes before the start of Anne's class, Severus Snape entered the room. 

Anne gave a little jump, "Oh, Professor, sorry, I was in my own little world......" He walked to his place at the back of the room as _Loch Lomond_ drifted from the phonograph. Five minutes seemed to be a small eternity until she let the students into the room. She let the students chatter for a minute or so as they settled into their desks. Anne began the class with no mention of the incidents of the previous day, "Welcome, today we will be beginning a study of the Romance poets, but first I need your Limericks. Please remember that your Poems of Address are due on this upcoming Thursday." She placed the stack of papers on her desk and introduced the new topic of study, "Today we will begin studying the Romance Era; can anyone tell me what the Romance Era is?" Hermione raised her hand, "Yes Hermione?" 

"The Romance Period existed from the mid nineteenth century to the end of that same century. The writers were concerned with the mechanization of Europe and wrote about the world around them with truth and grace. It is one of the most influential literary periods and it saw the birth of the Novel." 

Anne laughed lightly, "Hermione, you just saved me from having to explain anything about the era. I hope you all were listening, because that information is important in understanding the Romantic poetry. This term 'Romantic' has nothing to do with love, it is a different definition. Keep that in mind also. This section of the class will not operate like your standard poetry class, we will not analyse the poem for its structure; rather we will be looking at the poems for their deeper meaning and references. Class discussion will be held, and all views will be discussed. There is no wrong answer when finding the meaning of a work, as long as it is supported by the poem itself. I do not want to hear anyone say that the poem 'Mary had a Little Lamb' is about death, or something completely unfounded, but please do not be afraid to mention an alternative interpretation. Our first work is called **_Lullaby_** by William Blake. I will read it aloud." Anne carefully picked up a three ring binder from of her desk. She gently ran her fingers over the cover, a wistful smile tracing over her face. She opened it up to one of the last pages and began to read with deep emotion,

**_Lullaby_**  
**_by William Blake_**  
_O for a voice like thunder and a tongue_  
_To drown the throat of war! - When the senses_  
_Are shaken and the soul is driven to madness,_  
_Who can stand? When the souls of the oppressed_  
_Fight in the troubled air that rages, who can stand?_  
_When the whirlwind of fury comes from the_  
_Throne of God, when the frowns of His countenance_  
_Drive the nations together, who can stand?_  
_When sin claps his broad wings over the battle,_  
_And sails rejoicing in the flood of Death;_  
_When souls are torn to everlasting fire,_  
_And fiends of Hell rejoice upon the slain,_  
_O who can stand? O who hath caused this?_  
_O who can answer at the throne of God?_  
_The Kings and the Nobles of the Land have done it!_  
_Hear it not, Heaven, thy Ministers have done it!_

Anne stopped reading and closed the book, letting a deep silence hang over the classroom. She waited a moment, then asked, "So, does anyone have any idea what the poet was trying to tell us?" No one answered for a spell, and then Susan Bones raised her hand. 

Anne nodded to her and Susan began to speak, "Well, the title of the poem suggests it takes place before the world sleeps, and sleep is often figurative for death- it makes sense that the poem is said to a dying world, considering the historical context." 

Anne nodded and then pointed to Lee Jordan's raised hand, "Yeah, I think that the speaker wants the world to realize that troubles of the time were because of false preachers, not the government." Anne spoke, "Is that a literal meaning of false preachers, or figurative?" Lee thought a moment, "Probably both, the real church leaders and everybody else telling.....HEY! It could be talking about the false statements that mechanization would solve all the world's problems, and that the cities were where you should be!" 

Anne smiled, "That is a very good probability, Lee. I never quite considered that one before. Holli, were you going to say something?" 

The strawberry blonde in the last row shook her head, "Lee already mentioned it." Soon, other students began to offer their opinions on the poem. Hannah Abbott offered to sing a version of it with Elenore Branstone if someone was willing to take the bass line and speak the poem over their background vocals. No one wanted to help, so Anne suggested that she find someone and they perform it later. The girls happily agreed to her suggestion. The class hour flew by and soon Anne found herself dismissing her students and closing up her classroom for the night.

Anne entered her chamber to find Angel pouring over a pile of Potions notes that covered a great amount of the table. She sat down in front of a clear spot on the table and began to read the Limericks handed in that day. Angel left for dinner in the Great Hall and Anne continued to grade papers through dinner and long after Angel came home to bed.

Wednesday Anne awoke at Noon. She showered and dressed before making a path to the kitchen for her lunch. The house elves were busy trying to read her recipe for pizza dough. They were a bit confused by her handwriting, so she convinced them to wait until Friday to decipher it and she would help them to make pizza for Dinner.

Anne continued her study of Romantic poetry in her class that day. She saw Snape seated in his corner. He was watching the students file into the room. After the students had settled into their seats she drew an old volume out of a drawer in her desk. 

She introduced the book to them, "This text is from the year 1910 and is titled **_Twelve Centuries of English Poetry and Prose_**. I have found many hours of solace between the pages of this agéd text. Our next piece is entitled **_Ozymandias_** by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Listen closely to this poem and try to identify irony, satire, or sarcasm in this text."

**__ **

**_Ozymandias_**  
**_by Percy Bysshe Shelley_**  
_I met a traveller from an antique land_  
_Who said: 'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone_  
_Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,_  
_Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,_  
_And wrinkled lip, a sneer of cold command,_  
_Tell that its sculpture well those passions read_  
_Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,_  
_The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed._  
_And on the pedestal these words appear--_  
_"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:_  
_Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"_  
_Nothing beside remains. Round the decay_  
_Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare_  
_The lone and level sands stretch far away.'_

Anne looked up from the old text and leaned back on her desk. "Well, can anyone tell me which of sarcasm, irony, or satire are in this poem?" 

Mandy Brocklehurst raised her hand. "Yes Mandy?" "Well, the fact that all that remains of his great kingdom is irony. Also the face of the king sneers, not like a 'king of kings' would look." 

Anne nodded and asked another question, "Are there any double meanings to the words in this poem?" 

Dean Thomas raised his hand and spoke as Anne addressed him, "Well, the word 'mocked'- it can either mean imitated or scorned. I think that is a double meaning, as is the word 'beside'- it can mean nothing else remains, or nothing next to it remains."

Anne encouraged Dean, "Very well said. Now I would like you all to group into sets of three and think of images that this poem evokes- not only visual images, but other types of sensory details are acceptable also." The students grouped up and for the last half hour of class Anne rotated around the classroom talking to each group about the various images they found in **_Ozymandias_**.

Anne went home that night to her dungeon apartment to finish grading Limericks. She saw Angel leave for dinner when she was about five papers short of finishing. She finished her papers and went to bed at the same time Angel did. She was becoming quite tired due to the long week. The emotional strain of Monday was definitely taking its toll on her physically.

Anne slept through Thursday morning and after showering and putting on her green velvet dress she headed to the kitchens for lunch. She was greeted by a troupe of excited house elves. They told Anne to promise she would meet them after lunch on Friday to help them to make pizza. Anne made herself Hummus and Pita for lunch, fascinating the house elves that were helping her. She talked to the house elves about soups and how to make them just so until seven minutes before her class was scheduled to begin. Anne realized the time, told the house elves she'd meet them tomorrow, and then ran to her classroom. Standing outside her door, and slightly annoyed, was Professor Snape. Anne apologized profusely for her tardiness. Snape seemed less than amused. She opened the door wide and let her students in early. After they were seated Anne began the class.

She smiled broadly to her students, "How many of you remembered that your Poems of Address were due today?" The students grumbled and gasped as only five hands were raised. Anne laughed, "Figured so. Today is a workday so you five can relax and do your other homework if you want to. Please check in your poems as they are completed." Anne picked up the pile of Limericks and passed them back as her students began to work. Once she was done she sat down and began to grade the five Poems of Address that lay on her desk. The rest of the poems trickled in as the hour drew to a close. Anne dismissed the class and gathered the rest of her papers to grade that night. She left the classroom and when she arrived at her chamber she sat down and began to grade the poems. There was a knock at the door and Angel left with Harry, Ron, and Hermione for dinner. Anne sat up all night with a bag of potato chips grading papers. At midnight they were done and Anne stumbled into her hammock to get as much sleep as she could before her busy pizza baking day.

Friday morning arrived nine hours later. Anne sprang from her hammock and ran up to the showers and back. She was ready to bake by ten o'clock. She waited until lunch, smoothing her hands over her brown travelling dress. Anne braided her hair and then could wait no longer. It was eleven and she excitedly ran up the stairs to the main level and then to the kitchen. She dodged the students on their way to lunch and entered the kitchen with an unbound enthusiasm.

They made pizza dough and sauce until three o'clock when Anne had to clean up for her class. The house elves had been instructed how to cook the pizza, and Anne had left with every confidence in their abilities. She showered and changed into her pale blue dress with half length bell sleeves. Anne entered her classroom and shortly thereafter Snape entered. She flung open the door of the room with a smile and let her class enter. She asked her students what their opinion on the Romantic poetry was. No one answered. 

Anne asked them what the problem was. For a moment no one answered, then Ron raised his hand, "No offence Miss Schetzek, but after Monday a few of us are a bit apprehensive about your class. It's not everyday that we find out that one of our teachers is a former Death Eater." 

Anne smiled, "I understand completely. Well then, what do you want to know? I open myself up to your questions, comments, and concerns for the rest of the hour."

For a moment no one spoke, and then Owen Cauldwell spoke up, "How does someone like you end up in the Dark Arts anyway?" 

Anne sighed, her smile still shining, "That is a question I am still trying to answer myself. I can tell you my story though, and maybe that will help. I moved from America to England when I was eighteen years old to attend Cambridge University. It was there that I met others involved in wizardry. One of them introduced me to their teacher, an old man living in a neighbouring village. I won't go into all the details of my life at this time because it is still a bit painful to talk about. The old man eventually took me to a meeting of other wizards. That was where I first met Voldemort. Yes, I say his name- once you know an evil personally you might as well call it by its proper title- that reduces your fear of the thing. Anyway, I was twenty at that time and quickly growing in my powers. He did not have his own body at that time. At first I found him somewhat repulsive, but as time grew I found that I became used too much stranger things than someone sharing a body. The parasite taught me many different things, most of them harmless at first. He taught me levitation, duelling, basic spell casting, and finally the Unforgivable curses. By the time I turned twenty-one I was one of the Death Eaters. I became a favourite of Voldemort's, simply because I believed all that he told me and I was easily led. Then came the missions- dirty work that was a bit disconcerting at first, but I got used to it. Eventually I was sent on a mission to 'eliminate' a troublesome Muggle who was probing to far into the past of one of our members. I failed that mission- instead of killing her according to the plan I lost track of her in the subway system under London. That was my first failure, but Voldemort was quite forgiving of my miscalculation. He told me that not everyone can succeed every time. He assigned that task to another Death Eater and let me take a break. I rested for a period and then on my twenty-second birthday he stationed me in Ireland. That was where I met Angel, but I will get to that later. A group of Death Eaters, myself included, went to a little village on the sea to root out the source of a disturbance there. A local witch and wizard had become too strong for our comfort and were attempting to find anyone associated with the Dark Arts and turn them in to the Ministry of Magic. We confronted them in their home one night. I refuse to go into any detail as to what events came to pass that night- they are to horrific to remember......but anyway, after they were dead, we heard a noise from the upstairs. A five year old child had heard our noises and was crying in her sleep. I convinced the rest of the group to leave and to let me take care of the child. They did and I went upstairs to check out the situation. I found the little girl, but couldn't bring myself to harm her. That night I made a decision. I would leave the Dark Arts and take the child with me. I stayed at the house that night. The next morning I returned to the Dark Lord with a sinking feeling in my heart. Five months later I learned that Voldemort had sent a group of Death Eaters to my home town. My sister Grace had been training in wizardry and had been 'eliminated' as a challenge to my rise to power. In the middle of that night I packed all I owned into a cedar chest, a sea chest, and a satchel. I levitated them quietly out of the door and left the service of Voldemort forever. The next day I found myself in the same seaside town I had carried out my last mission in. Curious, I went to the local orphanage. Sure enough I found the same five year old girl in sitting in a corner. She was crying softly to herself, asking everyone who passed if they could adopt her. I talked to the nuns and left that day with a daughter. I told her to gather her things so she dragged a miniature sea chest over to me. We left and I booked a flight to England, spending much of the little Muggle money I had left. We kept moving through my twenty-third year and my twenty-fourth year until we had seen much of England, Scotland, and Wales. We had a few scrapes nearly being captured, but made it out of all of them. I home schooled Angel for the entire time that we travelled. Before I had turned twenty-three Angel had told me how her parents died. I had very cautiously told her of my involvement in the Dark Arts. She had been entirely open and accepting of my past, forgiving me because of my own regrets of having ever been associated with Voldemort. Angel knew basic wizardry from her parents and we continued to discover for ourselves what skills we possessed. I turned twenty-five on October thirty-first of this year. I stumbled across Hogsmeade quite by accident and stayed there until someone told me of Hogwarts. I was down to my last ten gallions, so I pressed the trail. We carried all of our luggage with us one day and set out to find the castle. We entered the Entry Hall and set our chests down in the hallway, along with my satchel. Then I opened the door to the Great Hall, hoping I had found the right place. That was when you all saw Angel and me for the first time."

The class was captivated by her story to the very end of the tale. 

Anne looked at the clock above the door, "Time for you to all to be dismissed. I hope that clarified some things for you!" The students left the room, many of them stopping to tell Anne how glad they were she had returned from the darkness. Anne's heart warmed as she spoke to each student. Maybe she and Angel would stay after all.

After all the students had left the room she sighed and sat on the corner of the desk laughing to herself. 

Professor Snape walked over to her, "Well, you handled that quite well, Miss Schetzek." 

Anne's smile softened, "It wasn't easy- and call me Anne." He nodded and there was a slight silence before she spoke again, "So...how did I do this week? I know it wasn't a typical week, but did I do O.K.?" 

Snape almost smiled, "You did fine, Anne. Now won't you come to Dinner tonight? It has been quite quiet at the Head Table. Perhaps you could get a conversation going? After that confession today, you may want to make an appearance- you wouldn't want it to appear that you were hiding, would you?" 

Anne laughed lightly, "Agreed. I will definitely be at Dinner tonight. The house elves and I have a surprise for everyone tonight, and I wouldn't miss that for the world." They left the classroom at the same time, Snape pausing a moment as Anne locked the door. They began to walk to the dungeons in silence. As Anne turned the corner to her chambers she noticed the door was slightly ajar. She commented to Snape, "Angel must have a guest." 

Snape nodded and walked to his classroom one door down, "I will see you at Dinner." 

Anne nodded, "Precisely!" as she entered her apartment.

Anne entered the room to find Angel, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all seated around the large table. Angel was helping Ginny with her Potions work while raiding Anne's "snack stash". Anne smiled at the study group. 

She tapped on Angel's shoulder, "You owe me potato chips, two Hershey's chocolate bars, and three two litres of Ruby Red Squirt. Anyway....dinner tonight should be interesting." 

Angel looked quizzically at her mother, "What about dinner? Are you coming?" 

Anne nodded, "Yes, I'm coming, and I won't tell you a thing about what the surprise is; you'll find out when you get there." Anne winked at Angel. She sat down at the table with them, "Can't promise anything, but if you need help I may be able to assist." 

For the next few hours she sat at the table helping them with various subjects of homework and learning a few things herself. The entire group left the room together to make tracks to the Great Hall. In the hallway they met Professor Snape. He nodded curtly to Anne as she locked her door. 

Anne spoke, "Care to join us Professor?" 

He busied himself with locking the door to the Potions Lab, "No thank you." 

Anne shrugged as Ron shouted, "Last one to the Great Hall is a rotten egg!" 

Angel, Harry, and Hermione dashed off to catch up with Ron as Anne stood laughing behind them, "Guess I'm the rotten egg," she remarked to Snape. Anne waited a moment as he locked his door and they walked to the Great Hall in silence.

Before the meal began, Albus Dumbledore rose to address the students and staff, "Tomorrow, as you all know, you will be leaving the school for Christmas Break. You have all, by now, received your grades for your mid-terms and well know whether or not to study over the Break- I trust you will have a wonderful and safe time, so let the feast begin!" On each table rows of pizzas of every topping appeared. Holli MacCumhail approached the Head Table and spoke to the Headmaster. He rose once again, "There has been a request that there be mixed tables for this gathering, and it is a request that I will grant." A cheer swelled from the student body as Holli ran down the stairs and sat down with Angel. Anne smiled as the students mingled and laughed. A pizza party before Christmas Break was definitely one of her best ideas yet.

The next morning Anne awoke to the sounds of excited students preparing to board the Hogwarts Express. Angel had left the room, so Anne threw on her bathrobe to find her. She mounted the stairs to find Angel at the top saying her goodbyes to her classmates. Anne smiled and returned to her room to grab her clothing. She then made her way to the shower and tidied up for the day. She smoothed her full dark blue skirt before slipping into her maroon T-shirt. The half length sleeves neatly covered the Dark Mark. She returned to the hallway after dressing and began to wish the students, "Happy Holidays." The next three weeks certainly would be quiet around Hogwarts.

The rest of Saturday Anne spent with the house elves. For lunch they took a break form their regular cooking to fix Hummus and Pita for the few students and staff members left at the school over Christmas Break. The house elves were intrigued by the ethnic dishes Anne was so fond of and they were determined to learn these fascinating recipes for themselves. They were also quite interested in the secrets to crock pot soups and Anne was their ticket to that information. The kitchen was filled with the smells of various soups and stews, attracting the nose of both Minerva McGonagall and the Headmaster himself. They were surprised to see Anne in the centre of the group of house elves. 

Minerva attempted to attract Anne's attention, "Anne? Anne!" 

Anne gave a little start, "Oh, Minerva, Albus, come right on in- you can join us if you want to- the soups will be ready for dinner tomorrow." 

Minerva nearly spoke in protest to Anne's involvement in the kitchens, but Albus cut off her opportunity, "I, for one, would be more than happy to join you- it could be interesting to learn your secrets." He smiled and stepped into the kitchen further. Minerva hesitated at the door, but at Albus' prompting entered the kitchen also. 

Shortly thereafter Angel appeared in the doorway, "Mum, can I go to Hagrid's hut with Harry, Ron, and Hermione?" 

Anne turned from her cauliflower mushroom barley soup for a moment and shouted to Angel across the room, "Dress warm and you can go- just be back here for dinner." Angel thanked her mother and ran off to find her winter coat.

Angel scrambled up the stairs from the dungeon with her heavy coat in her arms. She met Hermione at the top of the stairs. The boys were waiting for them in the Entry Hall. Hermione and Angel ran to meet them as Angel was attempting to put on her coat. The four friends left the huge front doors to find themselves in a world of white. Angel skipped through the snow with Harry, Ron, and Hermione following. 

Harry turned to Hermione and Ron, "Where **_does_** she get all that energy?" Ron shrugged and Hermione raised her eyebrows.

Back in the castle Anne had finished with her crock pot and was circulating through the kitchen checking the various soups. She finished her rotation and sat down on the countertop. 

Bob stepped over to her, "What does Anne suggest for dinner tonight? We finished off most of the leftovers ourselves over the past few days. Winky and Dobby say there is no more pizza, the students finished it off yesterday. What does Anne think for tonight?" Anne looked around the large kitchen and began asking Bob if they had certain ingredients. Bob confirmed that everything was somewhere in the kitchen, so Anne asked if they had a large pot to boil noodles in. Bob once again positively answered her inquisition and curiously tipped his head, "What is Anne thinking?" 

Anne looked at him kindly, "Have you ever made Fettuccini Alfredo with Linguini noodles?" 

Winky shook her head, "Winky has never made that," she turned to Dobby, "Has Dobby?" 

Dobby shook his head and turned to the rest of the house elves, "Have any house elves ever made Fettuccini Alfredo with Linguini noodles?" They all shook their heads. 

Anne stood up from her countertop perch, "Well, after tonight you will have. Find the pot to boil the noodles in, and gather the following ingredients..." Anne listed a series of foodstuffs and began to make dinner for the few students remaining at Hogwarts.

That night at the single table used during Christmas Break sat Anne, Angel, Harry, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Hagrid, Minerva, Albus, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and Holli. Anne was curious as to why the three Slytherins had not gone home. She could see that Angel was just as inquiring, as were the other students. Anne decided not to spoil the light atmosphere of the meal by bringing up the topic, so she merely ignored this as an irregularity and smiled as all the students temporarily got along with one another. After dinner Anne retired to her chamber while Angel retreated to Gryffindor House with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. She opened up the sea chest tucked under the hammock and pulled out a vibrant red bolt of cloth, a roll of thread, a box of pins, and a needle. She laid the items on the table and set to work.

Later that night Angel crept into the chamber thinking that her mother may have been asleep. She very carefully entered the room. 

As Angel shut the door Anne looked up from her work, "Angel, it is ten o'clock at night- you should have been in bed by now- and home by far earlier." 

Angel looked sheepishly at her mother, "Sorry Mums, we were talking about things and the time slipped away. I hope that this is not going to create a problem?" 

Anne smiled, "Just try to be more practical about the times you are getting back- I would like to get some sleep each night." 

Angel climbed up on the table, "What are you making, Mums?" Anne grinned, "Well, I don't have a dress formal enough for Christmas anymore, so I decided to make myself one...I do hope it turns out all right!" Angel's smile met her mother's and she clamoured up into her loft. Anne tucked her in, turned down the torches, and fell asleep the moment her head hit her pillow.

Sunday morning came all too early for Anne. She dragged herself out of bed and stretched while she walked over to her dressing corner. She dug through her clothing chest and pulled out a simple black velvet dress. Anne laid the dress on her hammock as she reached for her bath robe. She made her way to the door, closing it quietly on her way to the showers as not to wake Angel.

When Anne returned to her chamber, she noticed Angel was still fast asleep in her loft. Anne decided not to wake her and went back to work on her dress. At eleven o'clock Angel finally sprang from her bed, bounding down to the floor below. 

She walked over to her mother who was stitching the sleeves of her project gown, "Mums? Is it time for lunch yet?" 

Anne looked up from her work and answered, "Nearly, wait for a short hour or so and then it will be time for lunch. Heaven knows what we are having, probably soups."

The day flew by faster than any Anne had experienced during her stay at Hogwarts. Before she realized the day had passed, she was stitching the hem on the skirt of her Christmas dress and readying herself for dinner. Anne and Angel walked together to the Great Hall. They were delighted to be having crock pot soups as they had eaten for lunch. Angel tried the vegetable soup, while Anne stuck with her old favourite, Mushroom Cauliflower Barley soup. They laughed through dinner together, and somehow the Slytherins managed to keep a tentative peace with the other students at the table. Anne decided she would have to inquire as to why Draco and the other Slytherins were staying at the school over Christmas Break. 

She walked over to Draco and in an exceptionally friendly manner cleared her throat to begin speaking, "What caused you and your friends to stay here over Break? Albus has told me you usually spend this time of year at home." 

Draco turned to her, "My parents are quite busy, if you must know- it is none of your business anyway." Crabbe and Goyle nodded their agreement. 

Anne stepped back to Angel, "Well if they aren't as friendly as rabid pit-bulls...I wonder what their parents are up to." 

Angel looked her mother full in her face, "I think I know **_who_** they are with- I don't even want to know what they are doing while in his service."

On Monday, Anne and Angel made a trip with Hagrid to Hogsmeade for Christmas shopping. Angel and Hagrid departed in one direction, while Anne went off on her own. Anne knew just what to find Angel.   
  
She went strait to the tailor shop and softly approached the desk, "Excuse me, Miss? I need a set of plain black robes for my daughter, and I also will need your help in finding her a little something special...."

Meanwhile, Angel had led Hagrid to the Quiddich Supply shop. 

She looked up at Hagrid's tall frame towering over her, "Mr. Hagrid, what do you think- can we find something for Mum in here?" 

Hagrid smiled down at the little lady he was escorting around Hogsmeade, "Knowing' yer mother, this'll be the place that we find 'er Christmas present."

After Anne left the tailor shop, she crossed the street and entered a confections shop. She was careful to note the positions of all the shops as they passed, for she knew that she would never remember their names.

Hagrid and Angel left the Quiddich shop with a large parcel. She fingered the coins in her hand, "Well, I still have a little left, so let's go to the pet shop and see what we can find there- Mum has always wanted an Owl..."

Anne left the confections shop and walked quickly down to the Potions shop. She had a mission of her own to complete over Christmas Break.

Angel, Anne, and Hagrid met back in the Great Hall an hour later after they had hidden their gifts from one another. They laughed together, telling one another of whom or what they had seen while in the town. Anne asked Hagrid to watch Angel that night while she finished an errand of her own. He happily agreed to grant her request.

Monday evening Anne left the school property and teleported herself into a quiet alley in Hogsmeade. She slipped out from between the buildings to finish her shopping without anyone to give away her secret task. She travelled around the shops purchasing little stocking stuffers for Angel and a few other little gifts. She also stopped and bought herself a nice scroll to write her Christmas letter to the Headmaster on. She finished her shopping and teleported back to the property just beyond that belonging to Hogwarts. Anne made her way carefully through the forest to the school. She was unafraid of the forest, even at night, for she knew that far more evil things lurked Azkaban, and in the heart of her former Master.

Anne knocked softly on the door to her chambers as the clock in the Entry Hall chimed midnight. She thanked Hagrid immensely for his help and hid the gifts under her table. She pulled out her sewing and began to diligently work on finishing her Christmas dress. It was near 5:00 in the morning before Anne finished her sewing and crawled under the covers in her hammock.

Angel slept nearly until noon the next day and left her mother a note that she was going to, "Check on the status of the Christmas gifts." Anne woke an hour later and smiled at her daughter's note. It read,

_"Mum- Good Morning to you! I have gone to chek on the statis of the Christmas gifts. I hope they have rapped themselfs over-night. See you this after-noon."_

The little misspellings made the note quaint to Anne, and she tucked it in her cedar chest next to her clothing. She pulled the bags out from under the table and began to wrap the stocking stuffers in colourful paper she had bought the night before. After an hour of careful wrapping of the stocking stuffers, Anne wrapped gifts she had picked up for Minerva, Hagrid, and Albus. She then pulled out Angel's gifts. She tied a ribbon around the small bag of candies she had purchased and set them aside. The silver box that the robes lay in was not decorated, so Anne wrapped the corners with a crimson ribbon and left the simplicity of the wrapping lend to its charm. After finishing with those parcels, Anne wrote out her scroll to Albus and set everything aside on the top of her cedar chest. She dragged her heavy sea chest out from under her hammock and slowly opened it. She drew out a small ebony box and set it on the table. Anne carefully began to measure and mix these with the potions she had purchased the day before. She poured the finished concoction into an old label-less wine bottle she had found on her travels and quickly corked it. She shook the bottle gently and tied it with a violet ribbon. To the ribbon she attached a small note that read,

_"Merry Christmas Severus- may the years ahead be blessed with love and understanding. Your 'neighbour' in Hogwarts, Anne."_

She tucked the ebony box and all the unused potions into her sea chest and tightly latched the lid. She placed the bottle on the floor next to the sea chest and went to the Great Hall to meet Angel for dinner.

Christmas Eve proved to be very peaceful. The Slytherin students were unusually quiet at dinner, while Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Holli were unusually excited about the following day. Angel's eyes were glimmering in the dim light as she anticipated the dawn.

Christmas morning came early as Angel bounded over to her mother's hammock to awaken her at 6:43. 

Anne was already up. "Mum, Saint Nicholas found me here too! Can I open my stocking now? Please Mum......" Anne beamed at her daughter as she lit the torches around the room with her hand-magic as she called it. Angel pulled her stocking over to the table.

Anne spoke as she pulled herself out of bed, "Well, you know we have to go up to the Christmas tree to open other presents- I tucked them under it last night." 

Angel replied, "Well Mum, that is where I had Hagrid put yours too, so maybe I should take my stocking up there and open it- well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!!" Anne laughed as Angel practically dragged her out of her chamber and up the cold stone stairs to the Great Hall.

By the time they entered the Great Hall, it was 7:00 and Hagrid, Minerva, and Albus joined them shortly after. Angel was too excited to wait until after breakfast to open her presents, so Anne let her empty her Christmas stocking before breakfast. She poured the contents onto the floor in front of the tree and set to busily unwrapping the little toys her mother had found or made for her. There were colourful little tops, a bag of marbles, a set of jacks, and many bright paper dolls with carefully detailed dresses that glittered in the morning light that the charmed ceiling cast down on the happy company.

Everyone was in good spirits when the large breakfast was laid out in front of them on the one long table. Surprisingly enough, even the Slytherins were cheerful. Anne smiled at Draco Malfoy and was surprised that he returned her smile. Angel was restless all through breakfast as she anxiously waited the time when she would be allowed to tear open her presents. Anne laughed at her impatient earnestness as Angel squirmed while waiting. Finally breakfast was over and Anne followed Angel as she raced to the Christmas tree and crawled under it searching for her presents. Anne smiled as she watched her daughter and listened as only a mother could to the music of Angel's excited voice. 

Angel pulled out the little satchel of candy and ran to hug her mother joyously, "Thank you Mums- do I have anything else under there?" 

Anne laughed and hugged her daughter back, "Yes child, one more gift, now go and find it." 

Meanwhile Hagrid had found his present from Anne under the tree. He tore off the blue wrapping and stared in wonder at the crystal globe in front of him. It was gently tainted with a watery blue colour and in the centre if the globe was an intricately carved black dragon. 

Hagrid sighed with wonder as he stared deeply into the orb; he walked over and gave Anne a huge hug, "Oh thank yeh Anne- I coulda never thought yeh would b'able t'find summat like that!" 

Anne smiled, "I heard about your dragon friend back when Harry was a first year and I thought that this would be perfect for you." 

Smiles spread as Minerva opened a little box and pulled out a delicately crafted Celtic knotwork broach, "Anne, where did you ever find this?" 

Anne smiled broadly, "I have had that for years, since I was a child- I have never worn it, and since you wear broaches and such, and I thought it would look lovely with the dark colours you wear, I decided that this was the perfect gift for you." Minerva's smile spread across her face as she fashioned it on her dress and removed her old broach. 

Albus found his scroll as Angel cried out triumphantly, "Ha! Mum, I have found it!" 

Albus sat back in his chair, "Anne, I will read this later on my own time. Angel- show us what you found." Angel gazed entranced by the silver box. In an instant her eyes changed and she tore the ribbon off, hung it around her neck, and lifted the lid off the box. She gasped as she drew out a simple set of black robes. She set them aside as her mother's eyes teared up for joy and Angel drew out the other set of robes in the box. They were a deep emerald that floated as Angel drew them out of the box. They were trimmed delicately with gold and the large butterfly sleeves drifted gently around the body of the robes. The room fell silent as Angel starred in disbelief at the robes in front of her; shifting her gaze to her mother she gently pulled them over her pyjamas and pulled them closed. She twirled around, then ran to her mother and gave her the biggest hug possible. 

No words were spoken between the two for a short time, and then Anne spoke, "Now go put them away until Christmas Dinner- they are only for very special occasions and holidays." Angel nodded and complied, then handed her mother a long, thin box from under the tree. 

It was as tall as she was, and Hagrid had to help her to carry it to Anne, "Here, Mum. This is one of the things- the other one isn't quite here yet." she turned to Hagrid, "Can you go check on it for me?" Hagrid nodded as Anne knelt down to unwrap the box at her feet.

Gently Anne turned the box over to untie the delicate silver ribbon from the dark blue case. She lifted a latch in the middle of the lid flap and carefully drew it open. Under a couple of layers of tissue paper shone the deep mahogany handle of a Cleansweep Quiddich broom. 

Anne pulled it out of its casing and ran her fingers over the slightly used wood, "My Lord, Angel, where did you ever find this? It is just like my old one I left back..... This is wonderful!" 

Angel jumped onto her mother's lap, "Wait 'till you see what the other thing is that I got you! Hagrid- we're ready!" 

Hagrid came through the doors to the Great Hall with a barn owl on his arm, "'Ere she is, Angel, 'ere she is." 

The owl took flight and landed on the broom handle Anne was still holding, "For you, Mum." Anne sat in an overjoyed shock for a moment before she gave Angel the biggest one-arm hug that was humanly possible.

That day flew by in a flurry of motion as Anne and Angel prepared themselves for Christmas Dinner. Angel wore her lovely emerald robes while Anne wore the dress she had stitched just for the occasion. It was red taffeta with cap sleeved to hide her Dark Mark and a little diamond of embroidery on the chest where a necklace would fall. The dinner was wonderful, smooth and calming without incident. Anne tucked her daughter into bed late that night with a sigh, folding their dress clothing and placing them into her cedar chest. Anne herself crawled under her covers and sighed deeply, another Christmas come and gone, this one the first in many years she had celebrated without being alone.

The 26th came and went in a blur, ending with the 27th coming before it was expected. Anne decided that she needed to test out her owl before the new semester started, so she pulled out a piece of parchment and thought of who she knew outside those still at Hogwarts. There were only the other teachers and the dark wizards who came to her mind, neither of who she felt she could talk to. The other teachers did not really know her, and the dark wizards were currently trying to kill her (contacting them was not a wise choice). She searched the room with her eyes hoping that something in the room would give her a mental clue as to whom she should contact. Her eyes fell on the bottle corked beneath her cot. Severus: she would send him an owl. Anne laughed as she thought of what his reaction would entail, and then pondered if he would bother to respond. She scrawled the letter quickly,

_"Dear Professor Snape..."_

she paused- no need for formality if she was writing a friendly letter, so she cut the top off of the parchment and began again,

_"Dear Severus,"_

much better,

_"I hope you have been having a wonderful break and are looking forward to the second semester. It is so odd here without hearing your Potions lectures from next door! I am excited to continue teaching this next semester! Really the whole reason that I am sending this to you is to let you know that Angel gave me an owl for Christmas and to test her wings. Let me know if she does alright! Also, what did you get for Christmas? See you soon! Love always: ~Anne."_

She rolled up the letter and tied it with a green silk ribbon and gave it to her owl, "I need to name you before you fly off- do you like the name Deirdre?" The owl hooted softly and nodded, "Then that is your name- be swift dear, and come back with a response if he is in the mood to give one!"

The rest of the day was a blur, and all that Anne could remember was that Angel and the house-elves were quite enthusiastic about planning for a New Years party and preparing all the food for it.

On the 28th of December in the dim early evening light, Anne patiently awaited by the front door of the castle watching the snowfall for the return of Deirdre. She hoped that Severus would respond quickly, she was anxious to here from him. Over the Holidays her thoughts had for some reason often turned to him. She was curious to why he was so bitter and cold to everyone in the school, but for some reason he had been able to sit and tutor Angel and she had thought he had been rather pleasant toward her. Anne knew he had a past in the Dark Arts, and she hoped that he was safe from the Dark Lord. She knew that she herself was being hunted, and for some strange reason she felt that if he were to be in danger, she would feel affronted herself. It was odd that she should feel such a connection to someone who was virtually a stranger to her. She shook her head free of the thoughts as Deirdre flew into her sight. The owl dropped a thin scroll into Anne's outstretched hands and flew off the owlry to catch a well-earned rest. Anne was too impatient to wait until she went inside so she tugged at the end of the ribbon and it slid off of the letter. She noticed that it was green silk. Carefully she unrolled the message and smiled. As she had suspected, it was quite short and to the point.

She pulled her eyes from the graceful script as Holli called her name from the Entry Hall, "Anne, Angel wants to know if she and Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I can all stay the night on New Years Eve. Is that alright?" 

Anne smiled and turned her attention to Holli, "Oh- of course. I don't think any of us will be sleeping that night anyway- but beware that I was planning on opening the room up to the entire group to use for a dance hall after I pull the table into the hallway." 

Holli's smile grew to a full out grin, "That is wonderful! This will be so much fun.... Thanks Anne!" 

Anne turned her attention back to the falling snow and then to the letter. 

_"Miss Schetzek, the owl performed her duty as expected. I did not get anything for Christmas. I will see you on January 3rd. ~Prof. Severus Snape."_

So much for a lack of formality. Anne rolled up the scroll, tied it off, and walked back into the school. She opened the door to her chamber and lit the torches with her hand-magic. She walked over to her sea chest and cautiously opened it and slipped the letter inside.

Sunday, December 29th- Angel and Anne sat once again in their cold quarters in the late morning reading the parables of the book of John with a light heart and a love for song. Angel pulled her tattered songbook out of Anne's sea chest and flipped through it. Anne sighed. Why she had ever let Angel ever see the contents of her sea chest was still a mystery to her, but the child had understood the purpose of everything in it. Anne shuddered at the thought of what was below the false bottom of the chest that she had not let Angel's curiosity discover. Hopefully she could be rid of it all before the end of the year. Angel began singing and brought Anne's thoughts back to the present. 

_Bye and bye_ _when the morning comes_  
_All the Saints are goin’ t’gather home_  
_We’ll tell the story of how we’ve overcome  
__And we’ll understand it better bye and bye_

Anne smiled and spoke softly to Angel, "I pick the next one. I would like to sing 'Hands'. I know it is not traditional, but it feels right to sing it now." 

Angel smiled, "'K. Mum."

_If I could tell the world just one thing_  
_It would be that we're all ok_  
_And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful_  
_And useless in times like these_  
_I won't be made useless_  
_I won't be idle with despair_  
_I will gather myself around my faith  
_ _For light does the darkness most fear_

_My hands are small, I know_  
_But they're not yours, they are my own_  
_But they're not yours, they are my own  
_ _And I am never broken_

_Poverty stole your golden shoes_  
_It didn't steal your laughter_  
_And heartache came to visit me_  
_But I knew it wasn't ever after_  
_We'll fight, not out of spite_  
_For someone must stand up for what's right_  
_Cause where there's a man who has no voice  
_ _There ours shall go singing_

_My hands are small, I know_  
_But they're not yours, they are my own_  
_But they're not yours, they are my own  
_ _And I am never broken_

_In the end only kindness matters  
_ _In the end only kindness matters_

_I will get down on my knees, and I will pray_  
_I will get down on my knees, and I will pray  
_ _I will get down on my knees, and I will pray_

_My hands are small, I know_  
_But they're not yours, they are my own_  
_But they're not yours, they are my own  
_ _And I am never broken_

_We are God's eyes_  
_God's hands_  
_God's mind_  
_We are God's eyes_  
_God's hands_  
_God's heart_  
_We are God's eyes_  
_God's hands_  
_God's eyes_  
_We are God's hands  
__We are God's hands_

Anne and Angel finished their song and Anne smiled. Angel closed her songbook, said a prayer for the upcoming week, and the little family went on with their relaxation for that Sunday. Angel disappeared with her friends while Anne hunted all over Hogwarts until she found a piano. She finally found one tucked in an obscure classroom on the fourth floor. She sat down and began to play anything that came to her head. For hours on end she played, her tired fingers pushed forward by the sheer force of her will and her need to express herself through music. Classical pieces flew off her fingers alongside pop music from her childhood and dark themes that she had written while in the service of Voldemort. 

Hagrid knocked on the door, "Anne? It's suppertime if yeh were plannin' on joinin' us." 

Anne smiled, "Yeah, I'm coming, wait for me?" He nodded. They walked to the Great Hall and Anne took her seat with Angel and the other students. After dinner, Anne decided, she would have to ask Albus if she could use that room as her escape room when she needed to disappear; days when she had been especially reflective and had been thinking to much on the past.

In the blink of an eye it was 7:00 pm on December 31st and piles of food were arranged on the long table in Anne's room that had been shoved against the wall. The rest of the room was filled with the students, teachers, and house-elves dancing to rock music and somehow Anne had gotten an old television set to work powered off of magic and it was showing the New York celebration. The volume of the television set was muted so that only the rock music could be heard. The small room was overflowing and the party extended into the hallway beyond. As Angel turned up the volume on "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" on the radio Anne had rigged to also run off magic, Holli and Anne began to dance a little more spiritedly and the party really had begun. Hours later and the food was diminishing, and the ball was just beginning it's descent to the rooftop. The entire group of friends huddled together into the chambers and shouted out the countdown together. Even Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and the few other Slytherins joined in the joyful yell to the beginning of the New Year. Anne smiled- this was the family she felt included in, the family of the staff and students of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry- and this was where she wanted Angel to grow up.

6:00 a.m. January 1st- Wednesday- The group of partiers stumbled up to their respective Houses and fell into bed. 

Angel and Anne collapsed into their beds as soon as all their guests had left. "Angel?" "Yeah, Mum?"

"Weren't we having guests stay the night here tonight?" 

"We were Mum, but they decided to go to bed in their own beds so they could sleep all day tomorrow."

"Angel, I think that is a good idea." 

"What?" 

"Sleeping all day today- the staff returns on the third and I want to be well rested for that." Anne sighed and felt her bones settle as she lay on her hammock. She turned out the torches and heard Angel turn over before she slipped off into a deep and restful sleep that lasted until noon. She let Angel sleep and began to plan for her next sewing project. After she decided that she was making a slightly formal black dress out of velvet, she gathered her materials and began to work. At 6:00 pm her eyes began to droop and she climbed back into bed. Angel had slept all day.

Anne woke at 5:00 am on the third and noticed that Angel was already awake and studying for her classes, "Just brushing up, Mum, before I have to jump back into the whole schoolwork thing." 

Anne smiled, "Are you excited that all the teachers are coming back today?" 

Angel gave her mother an impish grin, "Yup, and I know you are too- at least about seeing Professor Snape." 

"Angelique Marie LeFay! I hardly know the man!" 

"I know Mum, but do you honestly think that you two will stay strangers? I know something big will happen here, and it might just be..." 

"Angel, don't even say that- you know how I feel about anything more than friendship and I know that is what you are hinting at." 

"Sorry Mum." 

"It's alright- just don't pull that stunt again." Anne went over to the big table and pulled it with her levitation to the centre of the room where it had stood before the party on New Years Eve. She threw on her bathrobe over her nightdress and put her daily clothes into a basket to take up to the showers. She returned to her room 45 minutes later in her traveller’s dress and threw her traveller’s cloak on over it to shield her from the chill of the winter air. Angel dressed herself in a pair of jeans, a purple t-shirt and a white cardigan sweater that she had bought in Ireland along with a thick pair of wool socks and pink bunny slippers. 

Anne laughed, "Angel, those slippers never cease to amuse me."

At 9:00 am the first wave of teachers began to filter into Hogwarts. Anne heard the door slam shut next door and smiled to herself: Severus was back. She went to her hammock and picked up the bottle she had mixed for him and gently shook it. She waited for the door to open and close again and then she slipped out of her door and set it in the centre of his desk. Quietly she escaped back to her own chambers and sat down at the table to work on her dress. 

Angel walked into the room, "Mum- it's nearly lunch and when I ran into Mr. Snape he asked where you were. I told him you were lurking in the dungeons. I think he may have actually been amused." 

Anne laughed, "How could anyone not be when you are wearing those adorable slippers?"

Anne and Angel went upstairs for lunch and mingled with the returned staff. Anne noticed that as usual Severus had distanced himself from the group and was standing on the outside of the group. Before she could approach him, she felt a slight tug on her skirt. 

It was Winky, "Anne? Winky has a wondering- will the rest of Anne's friends like Anne's soups?" 

Anne's eyes shone kindly at the little house-elf, "Of course I think they will, Winky. You and your friends are such wonderful cooks that I think you could satisfy even the pickiest of eaters." 

Winky grinned, "Thank you Anne! Winky is eternally grateful for your compliment!"

Lunch went smoothly, and afterward Albus called a staff meeting. Anne entered the room a little late; she had been delivering Angel to Holli and all her friends. The staff was chatting pleasantly when she opened the side door at the back of the room and stepped into the chamber. 

Once again she noticed Severus distancing himself from the group and once again her opportunity to talk to him was interrupted, this time by Albus Dumbledore, "Ladies and Gentlemen- your attention please?" Silence fell over the room, "Thank you, I have a rather disturbing piece of news to give you, our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Miss Terlynise Adrians, was unfortunate enough to break her ankle and a few ribs in a rather serious skiing accident in the Alps. Now while we are glad that the extent of her injury was not too great, we are left with a problem- no Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor, and it is a class that we cannot go without. I was wondering if there was anyone here who would volunteer to teach the class." Anne's eyes met Snape's. She read in his face that he wanted that job, but knew that because of his position as Potions Master that it would be impossible. As the silence hung like a wet blanket over the room, the double doors at the front of the chamber flew open with a resounding crash as they slammed into the wall. A man stood in the doorway, his face weathered and his black hair strikingly similar to that of Professor Snape, only shorter- just brushing his chin. He walked regally into the company with a slight limp, favoring his right leg, barely detectable to someone who was not trained to identify people in a large crowd, as Anne was. 

He stood facing the staff, panning his vision from left to right, his eyes first locking on Severus' face, and then on Anne's. Then his gaze fell on the Headmaster, "Hello, I am looking for a position where I may aid in the guiding of young wizards for the cause of defeating He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Can you help me?" 

Albus smiled, "We are in need of a Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor if you feel you are qualified." 

"I feel that I am quite qualified for just that type of work." 

Albus nodded, "Then come with me for an interview- Minerva, I would like you to also come and talk to this gentleman. What is your name sir?"

"You may call me Eddwords- my first name is of no concern to anyone."

After they had left and the other staff members milled about, speculating on the newcomer, Anne finally made her way to Professor Snape, "Hello Severus- it's good to see you're back here safely. How was your break?" He muttered something unintelligible. Anne spoke again, "Severus- that man, he seemed to zone in on us there when he first walked in. Do you have any ideas why? It was a bit creepy. This is all too convenient." 

Severus turned his gaze to her, "Miss Schetzek- think about it for a moment- what do we share?" 

Anne shook her head, "I don't understand...." 

His voice grew slightly more impatient than usual as he leaned close to her ear and whispered intensely, "I know you know that I have a past, one that I am not proud of, and one that you have a parallel to. The only two wizards in the room with connections to the dark arts are the two he focuses on- I know you aren't so daft that you could not see it as well as I could." He let the conversation fall as Anne's fears of her former life came flooding back to her in fresh torrents. She excused herself from the room and nearly ran back to her chambers to think things over. One thing that she concluded before she opened her door: she would be avoiding this Mr. Eddwords as often as possible.

Severus Snape left the crowded meeting and escaped into the dungeons and back to his classroom. He noticed that the door was opened a few centimetres. Bloody thing- always drifted open if it wasn't latched perfectly. He pulled the door open and entered the room. He sighed, only half the year left. He walked over to his desk and noticed a wine bottle sitting on the desk. That had not been there before he left. He dragged it over to in front of him and untied the violet ribbon. He carefully unfolded the little note and read it aloud to himself,

_"Merry Christmas Severus- may the years ahead be blessed with love and understanding. Your 'neighbour' in Hogwarts, Anne."_

Severus sighed as he uncorked the bottle, not quite knowing what to expect from his gentle neighbour. Out of the bottle drifted pale violet smoke that formed into the shape of a butterfly and then fluttered off into the air, dissipating as it went. Severus shook the bottle and found that all its contents had evaporated into the butterfly. He set the bottle under his desk and tucked the note into the top drawer. This little gesture of kindness was something Severus Snape was not used to.

At dinner that night the teachers resumed eating at the Head Table and the students all sat at one of the tables. To Anne, the room seemed uncannily quiet. She waved to Angel slurping her chicken noodle soup. Angel waved back with a noodle hanging from her lips as she sucked it inward and it flipped up and smacked her on the nose. Anne laughed and Snape turned to her with a slight amusement. From the end of the table, Eddwords intently watched Anne and Severus.

On Saturday, January 4th, the students all arrived back from their break on the Hogwarts Express. Anne stood at the doorway and greeted each student with a smile as they walked into the Entry Hall. Angel went visiting after the train had unloaded and helped her schoolmates to unpack their things. Anne spent the time sewing and by the end of the day she had made quite a lot of progress on her project.

The next day Anne spent planning for the next unit she was going to teach. She decided it would be on music. It promised to be and interesting lesson.


	2. 2

Monday, January 6th: Anne sat in her classroom with her phonograph rolling out Irish jigs and reels as her students entered the room and seated themselves in preparation for class that day. 

Anne whistled for their attention, "Excuse me kids- are you all ready to begin class?" Everyone sat down and gave Anne their full attention, "All right- here is our next unit- Music! So, what so you think is the definition to music?" Over the mutters and cheers of the students in her class, Anne called to one of the students who had their hand raised, "Yes, Mr. Stewart Ackerly- how do you define music?" 

Stewart began his definition, attempting to shout it over the din, "Music is-" 

"Excuse me Stewart, I can't here you- one moment. Class! Sit down and **_be quiet_** please!" An awkward hush fell over the classroom. "Thank you. Now, Mr. Ackerly, you are free to continue." 

Stewart cleared his throat and began to speak, "Well, music is a rhythmic expression of an artists emotions." 

Anne nodded, "Does anyone have a different definition or something you would like to add to that?" 

Hannah Abbott raised her hand and Anne pointed to her, "Yes Miss Abbott?" 

Hannah spoke, "I think music is sounds and patterns pleasing and expressing the views of the writer of the song." 

Anne nodded, "I like that one too- so, is anyone in here a musician? Instruments or vocals, it doesn't matter- raise your hands high- be proud of your talents." Many of the students held their hands high, "If we have enough kids, y'all should form a band or something- play some serious tunes here." A mutter ran through the room; Anne went to her mahogany desk and pulled a stack of papers off it, "Well, our first assignment is to pick a song you like and analyse the meaning behind it. I will be expecting about a half a page of writing on it and I will pick volunteers to present their findings to the class," she finished passing out the paper, "Now, you have the assignment sheet, so you don't have any excuses. Does anyone want me to demonstrate before you jump head-first into this thing?" A general murmur of consensus ran through her student body, "O.K. kids, here goes- keep in mind that the last time I did this was in high school over in the States, so don't expect perfection." Draco snickered and she glared in his direction, "Be careful my young friend, I am not afraid of your parents and I will not hesitate to punish insolence." Anne pulled a wax cylinder out of her desk drawer and loaded it onto her phonograph. 

Ron sighed; he expected that since Anne was playing off a crank start phonograph that she would be playing something terribly old and probably boring. He was pleasantly surprised when she set the spindle rolling and a pop version of “Lean on Me” began to dance out of the horn of the phonograph. 

Anne smiled at him directly, "This is by the Temptations- it is amazing what you can record onto one of these things if you get bored enough- but I have discovered that you can run a C.D. player, radio, 8-track, L.P. player, tape deck, and full sound recording system off of magic. Quite fun if you ask me." It took nearly four minutes for the song to play itself out, and at the end Anne took the needle off the cylinder and spoke to the class, "All righty then, that song is called “Lean on Me”; it was originally released back in the 60's. The meaning of the song is that no matter how bad things get, a friend will always be there for you...and then if I was in your shoes I would look for similes, metaphors, symbols, and the like and then talk about each. Don't just say, 'Oh, yeah, there is a simile in verse two,' that won't cut it- tell me what the simile is and what it means- same deal with the metaphors and symbols and all that jazz. Pick a song you like and that is decent- I don't want to get owls carrying angry notes saying, 'You played _what_ in your classroom?!' so keep it clean. Yeah, we should probably get to the next task this hour." Some of the kids groaned as she walked to her desk and retrieved a pile of papers. She smiled and laughed, "No, it's not another assignment- they are your Poems of Address, and I would like to say that they were all wonderful, but if any of you would like to read an exceptional one, talk to either Mr. Longbottom or Mr. Potter (all three of his are wonderful). So- here they all are- Holli and Ernie, will you please pass the rest of these out? Thank you." She handed the stacks to the two earnest helpers and continued to her desk. She sat down behind it and addressed her class once again, "I don't have anything else to give you or to assign you today, so lets have those song things for tomorrow and you have the rest of the class to do what you will- but I suggest that if you have a lot of other work tonight, that you work on the analysis project- if you can acquire a copy of the song, it would be much helpful to me when I am grading them and I do have the capabilities to play any media type you happen to have if you are going to present yours to the class tomorrow." She saw Draco confer with Crabbe and Goyle- she knew that they were probably planning trouble, or trying to find a media format that they thought she could not play. Anne smiled inwardly; there was no way she was going to let that happen, not in her classroom.

That night the Great Hall was filled with the excited chatter of the students calling to their friends and explaining everything that had happened over Christmas break. 

Albus Dumbledore called over their clamour, "Everyone, attention here, please.” a hush fell over the student body, “Welcome back to Hogwarts, in case you have not noticed, we have a new staff member in our midst. Professor Eddwords has volunteered quite unexpectedly to take over Miss Terlynise Adrians' position as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher while Miss Adrians is out. For those of you who are unaware, Miss Adrians was injured in a severe skiing accident over this break and is unable to complete the year with us. If you would like to send her something, you may contact either Minerva or myself. Now, today the house-elves have prepared a wonderful meal of Italian descent- lasagnes of all sorts! Hope you like them!" Everyone cheered as the tables became covered in lasagnes and salads and all sorts of other dishes that went well with lasagne. Anne was content with the meal and proceeded to partake in the general merry-making, but careful to avoid the prying eyes of Professor Eddwords.

Tuesday came and Anne's students handed her their papers one by one. She told the students who wanted to present their songs to keep their analysis and then to hand them in after they were done presenting. Ginny presented her song first, it was **_Loch Lomond_** , Lavender Brown presented **_Wild Child_** by Enya, Blaise Zabini presented Rammstien's **_Du Hast_** , Holli MacCumhail presented **_She Moved Through the Faire_** , and lastly the three Slytherins that Anne began calling the spineless trio came to present. Crabbe and Goyle each analysed Marylyn Manson pieces which Anne cut off part way through the song. Then Draco stepped forward and handed Anne a C.D., "Oh, yeah, the songs on it are in mp3 format and won't play on a C.D. player." She grinned and pulled a thin laptop from under her desk, "Did I mention that you can run a computer off of magic too?"

Anne began her study of music for the day with a look at pop music. She set up her computer and accessed her music files. This was going to be fun. She found her Brittney Spears and cranked **_Stronger_**. She yelled to the class over the blaring music, "So, what is so great about pop music?" She received a shouted response from Holli, "You can dance to it!" Then Anne smiled and suprised the entire class by hanging up her outer robes to reveal a little red dress. Then she shouted to them, "So what do you think the best way to study pop music is?" Elenore Branstone grinned and shouted back, "Listen and dance!" Anne nodded, "Amen, sister! So, this is what the rest of this class period will be spent doing- just stay off the desks." With that Anne walked down the centre row and encouraged the students to get on their feet and just dance for the love of music. By that time, the next song on her play list had sprung up and N'Sync was filling the classroom with **_Bye Bye Bye_** and Anne was having a great time. She worked her way through the moving masses to Holli, who was dancing like she was born to move in that manner. Between the two of them they managed to look like they themselves were part of a pop band, dancing the night away at a gig in the centre of a crowd of fans. More Brittney Spears filled the air next as **_Oops...I did it again_** loaded. As it began, there came a knock at the door. Anne watched as Harry opened the door. Standing there looking as though the world had just come to and end was Professor Snape. His eyebrows rose to the ceiling as he told Harry to find Anne. She danced over to him and reached the doorway as the chorus belted out, "I'm not that innocent." Anne had some great moves for that line, and her face challenged the very stiffness that Snape was known for. She walked close to him as the verse played and spoke loudly over the music, "What is it that you need, Professor?" He shook his head, "What is the meaning of all this?!" She smiled, "I figure that the best way to study pop music is to experience it- and pop is made for dancing. So here we all are- join us?" He shook his head to indicate that he would rather be eaten alive by a single scarab, even if it would take more than a million years. Anne smiled and asked again, "So, what are you looking for? I know you just didn't just come in here for the heck of it- no one ever does. So what do you want?" He sullenly replied, "I just wondered how everything was going- Albus sent me to see if you were having any troubles now that I was out of the room and the students had recently returned from their Holiday." Anne shook her head, letting her long hair fall off her bare arms. The Dark Mark she had so much feared was easily seen. She spoke up, "Naw, I'm just fine, hon. Now that they all know I have this thing they know my past- the secret is out and all- I don't think there will be any problems. Thanks for checking with me though- I really do appreciate it all." He nodded, "Then I have what I came for. Good day to you." "Have a cheery one yourself!" she replied. She went back to her dancing. 

Ten minutes before the end of the class and there was one song she had left to play. She stood up on her desk and yelled for the attention of the class, "Hey, attention here please!" The room fell silent, "I have one last song to play for you before we have to sit down, so I decided that no pop party is complete without the song written by the Backstreet Boys that is simply called **_Pop_**. So here goes my friends- get all that dancing energy out now, 'cause this is the last tune I'm gonna play tonight." She cranked the volume, jumped off the desk, and began to dance as though her life depended on it. She watched as Dean Thomas and the Weasly twins began to break-dance in the middle of the room. She let them keep on having fun until the song ended and she walked up to her desk and shut down her laptop. The students dragged the desks back to their rightful places in the room and then sat down. Anne addressed them, "So, do you all have a bit of an understanding of this stuff now?" Many heads nodded. Then Harry raised his hand and Anne nodded in his direction, "Miss Schetzek- I don't think that Professor Snape appreciates pop music." Anne laughed, "Someday we'll have to give everyone in this school an introduction of what we do in this class. I can tell you one thing- I don't think they'd ever be able to forget it even if they tried." On that note she dismissed the students and gathered her music players. She locked them all in a cupboard beneath the desk and left her room to meet Angel and clean up before dinner.

That night in the Great Hall there was a buzz about that Miss Schetzek was not only a teacher, but a dancer who should be choreographing for the pop stars. Anne was inwardly flattered by the comment, but seeing that her seat was next to Professor Snape she chose to keep quiet about the entire situation. She was still wearing the red dress, but with the long robes over it. Angel was thrilled that her mother finally wore her little red dress- Angel thought that with Anne's black forties-styled heels that were four inches tall and the long robes left to hang open that Anne was drop dead gorgeous. Truth be told, she was not the only one who thought that and many of the men in the Great Hall at that time would have whole heartedly agreed with Angel. Anne would argue that point, but Angel (being a stubborn little Celt) could never be defeated in her argument.

The next day was Wednesday, and Anne had planed for her class to study rock 'n' roll music. She decided that instead of attempting to have another dance party and get away with it that she was going to bring in different instruments used in rock and see if the students could learn about the creation of the music and have fun with that. Anne had an electric guitar of her own, but she needed to find other instruments as well. She found that Holli had a drum set up in Hufflepuff house and that she would be more than enthusiastic to have it in class. She told Anne at breakfast that she and all the friends she could find to help her move it would bring it down before class started. Anne agreed to that and noted to herself that today would yet again be quite an interesting day.

The end of the week came more quickly than Anne would have expected. She sat in her chamber that Saturday reflecting on her lessons the week before. Her rock exposition on Wednesday went well, as had her exploration into classical music on Thursday and her look at folk music on Friday. She had wanted to have the students write songs the next week, but her heart was not into her lesson plans. She looked at her planbook sitting on the table in front of her and sighed. For some reason this was not the work that she had wanted to do with the students- writing a song would not keep all of their interest, and if they were unsuccessful it could prove embarrassing. She pulled her quill pen out of the little box on the table and drew a long line through the entire week's plans. She decided that she would just quit the music lesson and find something else to teach over the next week. Unfortunately, her mind had drawn a complete blank and she was left in the dark as of what to teach. She decided to take a break from her work and visit Professor Snape next door instead. Perhaps he would have an idea of what she could cover with her students.

She knocked tentatively on the heavy door of the potions lab and as she waited for a reply she smoothed the skirt of her grey knit dress. To her, the dress looked Elfish, but she laughed at the thought of comparing herself to Tolkien's elves. It was silly to her to compare herself to such a lovely fantasy. She sighed and knocked again, still timidly. She heard a gruff reply, "Enter." Anne slowly pushed open the door and meekly entered the room, quietly closing the door behind her. She turned to face the desk and fell under the piercing gaze of Professor Severus Snape. She cleared her throat and softly spoke, "Sorry to bother you, Professor, but I am a bit discouraged and I would like some advice, if you are willing to give it." Snape leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. He waited for her to speak next. She took his hint and continued, "I am at a slight loss as to what to teach next week. I would like it to be an artsy kind of topic, but I just can't think of what to do. Can you help?" He remained silent for a moment as in thought, and then he sighed, "No." She let her shoulders fall in frustration. Seeing this he leaned forward on his desk, "Miss Schetzek?" She looked up sadly, "Yes?" He spoke again, "What did you do while in the service of the Dark Lord?" Anne sat at one of the lab tables and sighed heavily again, tears almost floating to her eyes. She managed to fight back her emotions and then to speak in a quavering voice, "I was in the potions section, elimination, and foreign affairs." He leaned back onto his chair and steepled his fingers against lips, still watching her with interest, "Would you be willing to help me sort things in the laboratory this weekend? Since you were in the potions section with the Dark Lord, I trust that you know what you are doing in a laboratory and I would be willing to have your help. Perhaps while you are dusting or something your mind will discover what you will teach next week." Anne nodded, "All right- I'll help. It'll help me to get away and do something different for a change."

By Monday Anne had familiarized herself with nearly everything in both the regular storage area, and in the cabinets in Professor Snape's office that were strictly off limits to students. After seeing what they contained, Anne understood why they were restricted. Unfortunately she still didn't know what to teach that day. She entered her classroom early and began to root through everything she had stashed beneath her desk. Many of the objects she had requested via Muggle-post from many of the people she had stayed with during her days of running from Voldemort. She pulled out a map she had made and unrolled it- all of England and Ireland were pictured and the various towns she had hidden in were marked and the places she stayed within that town were notated on the map also. Anne paused. She remembered the many hours she had spent in libraries sitting and sketching out her map, notating historical points and points of old Celtic interest, and those moments when she poured over the texts and charts before her while deciding were to go next. Anne slowly stood up and flattened the map on her desk. She pulled four tacks out of her desk and pinned the map up on a corkboard on the wall between her desk and the windows. She went back to digging under her desk- she still didn't have anything to teach in an hour.

An hour later and everything that had been under her desk was sitting on the floor in front of it. She sighed- still no idea as what to teach that day. Her students began to file in and some of them met the sight of her sitting on the floor in the midst of a mess with a look of surprise. Others entered the room and smiled at Anne as though this was something to be expected- something normal. Anne stood up and brushed the papers off her lap. She addressed the class, "Honestly, I have nothing planned for today because I crossed off what I had in my planbook in favour of finding a new topic and I couldn't think of anything. Therefore, I hereby declare this day a workday- keep the talking to indoor voices; I will tell you that you cannot talk at all if you abuse this privilege. So get to work- and Malfoy, if I hear or catch or find out that you were doing anything but work this hour, then you and all of your buddies will find your butts in detention for so long you won’t know when the school year ends. Don't think I haven't heard stories from the other teachers."

Anne spent the rest of her Monday cleaning out the piles of junk under her desk and planning for the week ahead. She decided to keep with the music theme, but to add a different twist to it. For the rest of the week the students would be allowed to research any type of music that they wished and then write a report on the evolution of that music and analyse one song of their chosen genre and tell how it fit into the genre they had stated that it represented. The reports were due on Friday, and Anne spent another uneventful week monitoring the kids as they worked. She liked the pattern of easy days and quiet nights that she was experiencing, it was so much better for both Angel and herself than the chaotic running had been, it was quite nice. Anne and Angel spent the evenings working on Angel's class work, Angel teaching Anne all she had learned that day in class. Not only was Angel learning, but Anne was also. Her education with Voldemort had been limited to what he had wanted her to learn and what she needed for his services. She loved this newfound knowledge and would happily tell Professor Snape each evening at dinner what new topic Angel was teaching her that day. Despite his apparent distain and aloof attitude, Professor Snape found it interesting to hear the wonder-filled tales that Anne told him about her learning in topics that he had thought were elementary.

That weekend was spent grading reports and then on Sunday evening Anne began to work on her plans for the next week. She was going to teach a dance unit, and she needed to choreograph a demonstration for each day. Angel would definitely be drafted to help her mother that week.

Monday, January 20th: Anne entered her classroom early and arranged the desks in a circle around the outside of the room to allow demonstration space and so everyone could see what she and Angel would be demonstrating. As the hour for her class approached she became a bit nervous. Things were getting more complicated in the style she would be using, so she was hoping that the kids would be able to stay tuned into her lessons. Anne sighed. Maybe she would just try it for a day or so, and change her plans if the current ones went awry.

The students filed into the room and began to work on finding seats and managing to sit near all of their friends. Anne whistled for their attention, "Hey, let’s get sitting so I can start here, O.K.?" The kids drifted to seats and Anne sat on her desk, "Alright, ladies and germs, our next unit is going to be a dance unit. Draco, don't roll those eyes at me, they might get stuck up in your head. We will be starting with ballet tomorrow, and then we will move on from there. This next lesson will be mostly demonstrations and such, so I will hope that you will be considerate of the performers. You will be expected to participate in the discussions that are held about each art form, and note-taking is advisable. We will end the demonstrations next week Wednesday and on Thursday and Friday you will be writing a paper comparing two of the dance forms you experience this week and a half and it will be due on Monday when you return. Slacking during the time I give you for the essays is not advisable, considering I have heard that Professor Snape has a busy weekend planned for you. Are there any questions before we begin today’s lecture? No? Then get your pens and paper ready, I'm gonna roll." Anne lectured that day on the history of dance and the earliest recorded uses for it. From self expression to storytelling, she covered every reason she could think of that a person would execute this art and she somehow kept the majority of her class from falling asleep. There were the occasional few snickers from a couple of the guys in class, but she shot them her 'if you do that again, you will be living in detention' look and they settled down quite respectably. 

Anne carefully set aside her lesson plans for the rest of the week in her desk drawer and left her classroom after the students had all left. She walked back to her chambers with a spring in her step, only to find that the room was invaded by a group of random students studying for Potions. Apparently there was a big test in the class the next day. _"So much for a relaxing afternoon,"_ thought Anne. She sat down at the table and asked the students what help she could be and then spent the rest of the afternoon running to the kitchen for snack food for the kids and helping them with their homework when she could. She had an extensive background in the actual making of potions, but the history and symbols that the kids were studying were highly unfamiliar to her. Both she and the students were completely befuddled by a symbol that they swore had never existed in the Greek alphabet that usually the mathematical world borrowed for its uses. Angel thought it was in Ogham, but Anne reminded her that Ogham was only straight lines. This symbol was rounded. Various other suggestions were made as to which language the symbol came from and what it meant, but no one seemed to be able to come any closer than, "it looks eastern and it has something to do with how deadly the potion is." Finally Anne got sick of the confusion and stood up, "Just one moment and we will know for sure." She left the room and knocked on the Potions room. "Who is it?" came the gruff reply. Anne leaned close to the door, "It's Anne- I have a question for you about the kids' homework." Snape came to the door, "What?" She smiled, "We have no idea what one of the symbols means- everyone in my room right now, that is about ten students or more, is absolutely clueless as to the origin and meaning of one of the characters. Can you come over and help?" Snape nodded and followed Anne into the crowded study session. A hush fell over the room and all of the students looked nervously to one another, wondering who would have to present the question to him. Anne addressed the crowd, "O.K., here is how you find the answer- Angel found out earlier that asking has not killed anyone to date that either of us know of, so if you are so anxious to find out what that thing is, then somebody ask." Angel walked fearlessly up to Professor Snape, "What is this and where did it come from and what does it mean?" Snape took the tattered book from the little girl's hands and studied the symbol intently, "That is the Egyptian hieroglyph for 'death'. It is used to designate the strength of the poison or other potion on a scale similar to the pH scale- the range is zero to fifteen, with zero being harmless and fifteen bringing instantaneous death even if only a drop of the potion is ingested. The scale is based on powers of ten, so a one is ten times as powerful as a zero. The scale does not take into account those potions which can kill with only a touch of the liquid to the skin- they are classified differently and therefore are measured on a different scale." Angel took the book back from Snape and nodded, "Cool- thanks for helping." Snape asked Anne if there was anything else that needed attention, she shook her head, and he left and returned to his classroom. The silence was broken and the students went back to their studies. Angel was happy- she was the only one brave enough to talk to Professor Snape, and she was only eight.

Once again the week flew by without incident. Anne recapped all the week's demonstrations before she started Friday's. "Alright- who can tell me what we saw on Tuesday? Crabbe- you are always so eager to talk during the demonstrations, tell me what you saw on Tuesday." No answer came, so Anne asked Goyle. The same results were found, "Yeah, you two absorbed a lot from this week. Hermione, what did we see? Recap the entire week if you can for these two. They seem to have been here physically, but without their brains." Hermione laughed before she began her story, "On Tuesday Angel demonstrated ballet while Anne did the same moves later on Pointe. Wednesday there was a jazz dance demonstration, and then on Thursday Angel covered Gymnastics. Is that all, Miss Schetzek?" Anne nodded, "Thanks Hermione. Today I will be really getting into the lesson because it is tap, and I love tap. Take notes on the lecture, and listen to the rhythms that I create- there is no other dance form except maybe clogging that I know of where making noise is encouraged." So Anne tapped. She went extremely fast and Harry wondered if she was really dancing or if there was some sort of magical illusion creating Anne's skills. 

At the end of the class period and her lecture Anne made a slightly surprising announcement, "Hey, you're not excused yet- I have one last thing to say- the Hogwarts' All-house choir will be created this weekend on Sunday at two- come if you want to sing!"

At dinner that night Holli stood up and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Hey everybody! I'm going to be forming a dance guild this weekend- Saturday at three- if any of you want to join me, meet here in the Great Hall and we can just have a great time!" Anne smiled and made a mental note of that. She and Angel would have to come and see what was going to be happening and dance their hearts out with Holli and her friends.

Anne and Angel had a wonderful weekend. On Saturday they both joined the dance guild and under Holli's instruction they began to work out choreography that Anne had began working on years before and had never executed. On Sunday there were nearly sixty students who showed up to the choir. Anne was happy to see that in an organized situation all the houses could at least act like they could get along. She began with a simple song that she had learned while in high school called **_Pinch Me_** , by Barenaked Ladies, a group of Canadian guys. She had a lot of fun with the kids who were eager to sing anything that Anne threw at them.

On Monday Anne entered the classroom in a less than expected manner. She step-danced in. Anne was dressed in a traditional Irish step-dancing garb. Angel trailed her in a similar dress. Anne's dress was black with the elaborate knotwork panels, while Angel's dress was green with similarly done panels. Anne smiled at the looks she got from her students. Perhaps this interest in her unusual clothing would spark an interest in both the lecture and demonstrations that she and Angel would perform.

The next day her clothing was just as unusual as she and Angel performed scenes from both **_Riverdance_** and **_Lord of the Dance_** in their demonstrations of Celtic tap. On Wednesday her clothing returned to something at least semi-normal as she taught and lectured on the dance form of hip-hop. She was dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a tank top. 

After she taught her energetic class, Anne received a notice that the Headmaster wished to see her. She hurried up to his office and knocked neatly on the door. She heard a cheery voice call to her from within, "Come on in, I am expecting you, Anne." Anne pushed open the heavy door and entered a sunny room with the Headmaster sitting in a huge armchair. He smiled at Anne and waved her forward, "Here, come closer Anne- I have a bit of a task for you tomorrow. If you are willing, I would like for you to go into Eddwords' class and observe him." Anne sighed, "Well, I am incredibly uncomfortable with the idea, but I will if I must. If you don't mind me asking, why can't someone like yourself or Minerva take this on?" Albus sat back in his chair, "We have no background in the Dark Arts." Anne asked again, "Then why did you pick me over Severus? Surely he is more experienced in evaluating other teachers than I am?" "We did ask him, but he blatantly refused to have anything to do with Eddwords." Anne took a deep breath, "Well then, I will put aside my discomfort and I will take the assignment." Albus nodded, "Thank you, Anne. It is only for one day, I think you should be fine."

Anne sat through an entire day worth of Defence Against the Dark Arts classes taking notes on everything from which lessons were covered, teaching methods, and then she compared the methods he described to the methods she knew from experience to counter each spell or curse that Eddwords covered in that class. She left only to find that she had lost her angel charm somewhere during the day. She did not have time to look for it before she had to teach her own class, so she decided that as soon as today's lesson in choreography had come to a close she would run down to the Defence Against the Dark Arts room before turning her notes in to the Headmaster.

Her class ran smoothly, and as had become the pattern as of late, no incidents occurred which were particularly notable in Anne's diary. She walked quickly to Eddwords' classroom, eager to find the little pendant which usually occupied the third space on her charm bracelet. She knocked lightly on the door to the room, hoping that there would be no unpleasantries in her little visit. She was admitted with a, "Come" from within. She cautiously entered the room and addressed the figure hunched over the desk, "Excuse me, Professor Eddwords? Did you happen to find an angel pendent anywhere in here?" He handed her the charm. As he did, she swore that he muttered something under his breath. She stopped with the pendent in her hand as her curiosity got the better of her, "What was that?" He looked up from the desk, "I said, 'Heaven knows **_you_** need an angel." Anne shook her head, "I know I have one- he is quite precious to me- but why do you say that?" His countenance turned hostile, "Because both you and your beloved Professor Snape are, shall we say, on a highway to Hell?" Anne's cheeks turned red with hurt, "Don’t even try to be cute and quote AC/DC to me. Why are you so hostile in your actions toward Severus and me? What did we ever do to offend you?" Eddwords stared at her with eyes as cold as stone, "He is a selfish recluse who is cruel to his students and takes his anger with the world out on everyone he comes in contact with. He is uncivilized without a hint of nobility in his veins- a prime example of Slytherin house, if you ask me. On top of it all, he is one of **_THEM_** anyway, secretly he works for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Anne was appalled at the accusations thrown out, "Eddwords, how dare you defame his reputation like that! He is introverted, yes- he forms a wall to keep people from finding out what he has been through, and on top of all that, neither he nor I work for Voldemort now. That is a dead past. How do you know these things anyway- what is your source?" Eddwords grinned cockily, "I help the Ministry root out people in his position, your position- that is how I know what he has been involved with. Anyway- you did work in the Dark Arts- that is all that matters. If your curiosities are expansive I can tell you why I think him uncivilized too." Anne challenged him with her eyes, "Yeah, bring it on: Give me one good reason." Eddwords leaned forward in his chair, "He killed his own brother, Robert, and all of Robert's family- a wife and three children." Anne's face froze in shock, her entire body locked in the stunned silence of the dimly lit room, "That is all behind him now though...the past is gone; it cannot be changed, only mourned for." Eddwords nodded, "You too have killed before- do you feel the same about your own past?" Anne let the anger filling her mind begin to rise and show through, "Yes- quite so- my baby girl understands where I stood at that time, and God has forgiven me for that sin. Don't you go spreading Severus' past around like you are so above him anyway- it is his business to decide when to reveal himself to the world. What you say about me, I don't care- everyone here knows anyway and I do not fear the world knowing who I **_was_**." The anger in her heart was heard through a tremor and a harshness in her clear, usually kind voice, "Let the man alone- no wonder he keeps to himself, if he ever did open up, people like **_you_** would go and spill his secrets to the world- Lord knows that it is hard enough to live with your own knowledge of your past, let alone to share it with another and to **_trust someone_** so deeply that you can tell them without fearing it will end up known to all." Eddwords snapped at her, "These secrets **_should_** be shared- the people need to know what they are dealing with." Anne felt disgust mingle with the anger, "And you call **_him_** uncivilized- look at what you are saying! Ostracize a fellow human being for a past which he himself regrets and cannot bear to speak of!" Eddwords sighed, "My dear Anne-" "You will call me by my proper name, 'Miss Schetzek', and drop the 'dear' off it. I am obviously **_not_** dear to you." Anne turned to leave the room and walked determinedly to the door. She opened it and glared back at him, "Good bye, and good riddance." The door slammed shut behind her as Eddwords chuckled wickedly in the darkening shadows of the evening.

Anne turned her report in to Albus and, without saying anything of the incident which had just occurred, returned to the dungeon to prepare herself for dinner. Angel jumped with surprise as her mother abruptly entered the room, "Mum! What's wrong? You never get this angry..." Anne flopped down into a chair, "Oh Angel, Professor Eddwords was being extremely judgmental of both myself and Professor Snape, although it was mostly Severus. Sorry hon- you know that kind of thing upsets me." Angel smiled and climbed into her mother's lap, "Yeah, I understand- let's get ready for dinner, maybe we'll have something Italian tonight," her tone turned to that of a restaurant advertisement with a fake Italian accent, "I have a craving for manicotti stuffed with ricotta cheese and smothered in your spaghetti sauce." Anne let her aggravation slide from her spirit and she laughed, "Oh my little Angel- you never cease to amuse me. C'mon- let's go eat."

Anne ushered Angel into the Great Hall and happily took her place next to Professor Snape. She smiled at him and settled in for dinner. The food appeared on the table, and much to Angel's delight it was the dish she had described earlier. Angel caught her mother's eye as her delighted hands reached for the garden salad in front of her. Anne smiled back, giving her glass a little toast to acknowledge Angel. Once again, her interaction with her daughter caught the eye of Professor Snape. Anne turned to him and let her infectious smile shine, "Angel told me that she wanted this for dinner about ten minutes ago." He nodded and Anne continued, "Is there any chance that I can talk to you after dinner?" He answered her as he reached for his goblet, "About what?" Anne sighed and nearly lost her smile, "A few things I heard today that are bothering me." He nodded as he set the goblet back down. Anne's happiness returned with the relief that entered her heart, "Thank you, Professor," and dinner continued with his silence.

After dinner, Anne followed Snape to his office in the dungeons. She sat on the edge of one of the student's tables as he settled behind his desk. He watched her expectantly, so she began, "This is really a bit awkward for me, so please be patient with me, if you can." he nodded for her to continue, "Eddwords told me something about a piece of your history today that I am unsure of. I want to lay it to rest with you." Slightly impatiently Snape prompted her to continue, "Well, what did he tell you?" Anne took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, she opened them and met his gaze, "He told me that you killed your brother and his family while in the service of Voldemort, and that brother's name was Robert. I hope you don't mind that I call the Dark Lord by his true name." Anne waited for a moment as Snape's stony face melted into one that was laced with years of wearying secrets that heavily sat on the heart that was rarely seen. He quietly answered Anne's inquiry, "It is true- I have gathered that this was what he holds against me, and that is why he is disagreeable towards me," Anne nodded slowly as he continued, "and if you wish to hold that against me as he does, I will not blame you."

Anne stepped up to his desk and leaned her arms on it, "No, the past is behind us now- it cannot be changed, only repented. That must have been one of those jobs that hits hard in the long run- one that you look back on and wonder how you ever had the strength to do it. I failed my first 'hard task'- I was supposed to follow my room-mate from Cambridge into the sewers and kill her there. I 'lost' her in the subway system in London on purpose. I think Voldemort knew that though, he then assigned me to learn the art of Potions because it was indirect. I went to Angel's house to observe how a new poison worked. It was effective, but too fast for the Dark Lord. That, as you well know, was my last service to the Dark Arts." Snape looked at her with a hint of surprise on his face, "You don't seem to be to judgmental concerning Eddwords' accusation." Anne smiled through her remembered pain, "Well, if I condemned you, I would also have to condemn myself. It is done and gone, cannot be changed, so why dwell on it? I am glad that you left that trade- it helps me to deal with everything knowing that there is someone else here who knows what it was like. We both would rather like to keep some things hidden." Anne paused for a moment and straightened her spine, her back cracking as she stretched, "Two more questions, Professor,” he raised his eyebrows, "The first, can I come and talk to you about this kind of stuff? I need someone to help me carry this load. The second is- can I call you by your first name?” He hmpf'ed and then spoke, "I will help keep your secrets if you will keep what you know about me a secret. And yes, you may call me Severus- thank you for asking." Anne's smile deepened as she replied, "I planned on keeping your secret safely tucked away. I really should go and find my daughter- get her ready for bed and all- that girl can be a handful some days..." He nearly smiled, "Goodnight then, Miss Schetzek." Anne shook her head, "Call me Anne- there's no need for formality here." He spoke again, "Goodnight then, Anne." She laughed, "Goodnight Severus!" and she left to find her little Angelique with a strength in her heart- she felt the beginnings of what would become a strong friendship budding and she took comfort that she now had someone to confide in.

The next day Anne sprang up in her hammock with an idea, she showered and dressed quickly in her black everyday dress and ran to find the Headmaster, she would need his permission to pull this off.

Anne was so full of energy that when her students entered her classroom that day they wondered what had happened since the day before when she had seemed slightly preoccupied. She clapped her hands in rhythm to attract their attention and her smile spread throughout the room as she spoke eagerly on the next task, "All right, ladies and germs, today we will be starting something that will most likely change every single one of you in some way, shape, or form. I have asked and gained permission to have you all perform a musical of Broadway calibre for the school. Starting tomorrow the script for 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' will be available for you to review. Auditions will be next week during class in a neighbouring classroom. While your classmates are busy auditioning for parts, you will be researching for a report on any topic that you chose. The packets describing anything you would need to know for this assignment are here on my desk- you are responsible for picking them up, and I will hold you accountable for everything in them. Today is a free day, and if you wish to get the packet and begin work now, you are more than welcome. Rules for the free-day: keep the noise to a dull roar; if you torment your classmates, detention will be assigned; and let those who wish to work, work. Anything else I think you need to be informed of and I will tell you as it comes to me." Anne sat down at her desk and began to grade the daily quizzes from the dance unit and let the hour soar by without a single hint of trouble.

That night at dinner, Anne announced the musical to the rest of the school. She smiled and sat back down, hoping that these spontaneous plans would flow as well as she predicted. Professor Snape turned to her as she settled back in her chair, "So, you think your students can manage a musical of that calibre?" Anne smiled, "If my high school class could handle it, so can these kids- I have seen their creativity and spontaneity in class- they can and will pull this show off. I know they can." Snape returned his attention to his meal. Anne sighed and began to serve herself steamed broccoli- this next adventure would be a beautiful trek into her creative side.

Anne slept soundly that night humming melodies from the Broadway to herself as she drifted into dreams. She awoke in the morning and headed to her classroom to distribute scripts and audition materials. She arrived at her door to find a large crowd of students waiting for her. She unlocked the room and sat down at her desk to begin her task. Hopefully they would still be as enthused about the show when rehearsals began.

Sunday came and Anne was awoken by a very excited Angel, "Mum, it snowed last night- and a lot of it! Get up so we can go play!" Anne sprang from her hammock, eager to have a day with just her daughter. She bundled up after dressing in her tunic and leggings and helped Angel to get her snow things on. Suddenly there came a sharp rapping on the door. Angel hopped from her mother and, while struggling to get her snow pants pulled up over her jeans, somehow managed to answer the door. Anne was laughing hysterically when a deep voice interrupted her amusements, "Miss Schetzek, what is the meaning of this clamour?” Anne rose gracefully from her chair and replied to him, still beaming, "It snowed last night." He looked at her quizzically, "That is minor reason for celebration, not enough to shriek about." Anne kept her smile as it transformed into a cocky grin, "It's a day with my Angelique. That **_is_** a definite reason to 'shriek'," she paused and then added, "You want to join us?" Snape stood back for a moment- he seemed surprised at the invitation, "No thank you- I have work to do." Angel shrugged, "'K. Whatever you want. If you get done with work and you want to come out and find us, feel free." He nodded and then, with a swish of his billowing robes, turned on his heels and left.

The entire morning Anne and Angel pummelled each other with snow. They bounced dripping into the Great Hall for lunch and then raced back outside after they had hastily finished eating. After they both had reached the site of their battle earlier in the day, Angel looked up to her mother and her pretty little face gave off a puzzled air, "Mum- Professor Snape wasn't at lunch, was he?" Anne stopped forming the snowball in her hands, "Now that you mention it, I didn't see him at the Head Table- I ate with you today, so I didn't look up there. Wonder what he is up to..." Angel raised her hands in bewilderment, "Heck if I know, Mum- let's get back to business," and so they did. Anne and Angel's arms were nearly tired beyond use when Angel called to her mother, "I've got and idea-" Anne interrupted, "That's a scary thought," Angel gave her mother a little glare that quickly faded as she hit her mother with a snowball, "We can build ourselves a snowman! Maybe a snow-wizard!" Anne laughed and began to roll a snowball for their sculpture. With Angel helping to decorate it, the snow-wizard would definitely turn out memorable.

As the happy little family began to detail their work's face, there came a creaking of the heavy doors of the school over the stillness of the winter air. Angel glanced over her shoulder, "That’s Professor Snape- he’s just watching us by himself. I wonder if he will come over here." Anne straightened her spine and turned her attention to the dark figure at the doorway of the school, "When and if he's ever ready, then he'll join us. No need to rush him beyond his comforts, babe." They continued working on their snowman, and as they did, they heard a soft crunching of the snow under slowly treading feet.

Angel was the first one to turn to meet their guest. She smiled and waved as her mother backed away from her detail work and stepped forward to greet Snape. Angel walked right up to him and tugged on his arm, "Come and look at the front of our masterpiece." Snape followed the wiry little eight year old to where Anne was standing; as far as he could tell, the snowman was not an average snowman- from his angle, and it was shaped wrong. Angel stood him next to Anne, "Here- now you can see it better- how do you like it?" Snape let an almost-smile form on his usually frowning lips, there in the snow stood a tall snow-lady wearing what appeared to be a wizard's hat and next to her was a much shorter statue of a little girl made out of snow holding a stick-wand. Angel tugged on his sleeve again, "Can you guess who it is?" He looked down to her, "Of course- it is you and your mother." Angel turned her eyes to the sculpture and sighed, "There is only one thing missing." Snape and Anne both looked at Angel for a little more explanation and she continued, "It's missing a dad."

The next week began and Anne began to audition every single student in her class for parts in the musical. The process was tiring and trying of Anne's patience. She changed her mind about the location of her auditions and decided to hold them in her own classroom and move her students into the library where there would be someone to supervise them. Before she could imagine, it was Wednesday.

Angel hurriedly carried her fiddle from her room in the dungeon up to the library. Holli wanted to meet her after Anne's class ended, and Angel was running late. She had stopped to say hello to Professor Snape on her way up from the dungeons, and had asked him if he could play the fiddle. He had answered with a no, and Angel had told him that if he ever wanted to hear her play, just to stop by and ask, because asking never killed anybody that she knew of to date. As she scampered down the hall she noticed Malfoy and his two shadows lurking in the hallway. She shook her head- those three were more trouble than it was worth to deal with them. Malfoy turned to her, "Hey, where are you going with that violin?" Angel stopped in her tracks and looked up at them with a slightly guarded look on her face, "It's a fiddle, and I'm going to meet Holli. What do you care for?" He bent closer to her face, "A fiddle and a violin are the same thing." Angel raised an eyebrow, "It is so obvious you have no idea what the difference is because you never considered the Celtic perspective." He ignored her, "I still think you are related to the Weasleys." Angel let herself get slightly cocky, "And that would be bad, why?" Malfoy stood up and sneered, "They're **_poor_**." Angel stood up tall, "Mum and I were when we were running. So was my dad- and he was one of the best musicians in all of France. He played fiddle, flute, and different kinds of pipes." Malfoy countered her, "Why was he so poor then?" Angel was ready to answer that, "He moved to Ireland with my birth mum and was still one of the best, but he couldn't beat some Scots at bagpipes, some Kildare boys at Ulillian pipes, a few Dubliners at flute- but he was still said to be one of the best of all of them, and one of the only folk who could play all of them. At his fiddle though, he was never beaten, and up until the day of his death he was known as the best in all of Ireland. Fiddle was what really mattered to him musically; the other instruments were mere hobby." Malfoy was cynical, "If he was so good, why wasn't he rich?" Angel confidently argued her point back, "He never made a record- believed in a good old-fashioned house dance rather than money or fame. He let me take hold of his fiddle when I was three and said to me, 'Lets see if our little lady got any of my fiddlin' blood.' He told everyone he met after that that I had held it perfectly and began playing within days. This is that same fiddle here in my hands- Dad's best, favourite, and only fiddle at the time of his death." Malfoy was still convinced that the argument was not lost to him, "Prove that story about your musical greatness." Angel smiled mischievously, "Gladly," and began playing slowly and classically. Mozart, Beethoven, Puccini, and others melded together and flowed gracefully from the bow. Then she began to speed up, not looking up at the eyes of her challenger for a moment. The velocity of her playing increased as she proved her skills with old jigs, reels, and anything else that she had heard at barn and house dances while travelling the countryside with Anne. A crowd of students gathered, including Holli. Holli looked around her and saw Hagrid towering above the heads of the students. She worked her way over to him and addressed him, "Hagrid, I can't keep from dancing- do you know how we dance in my home country?" He smiled, "Of course Holli! Country folk dancin' is one of m' favourite types of dancin'!" and they began to dance as though they were out in someone's barn on a Friday night with the neighbours. Holli laughed, "Just like back home in Ireland," as Angel picked up the speed of her playing. The others were clapping and cheering as Malfoy's eyebrows rose higher with the ascending speed. Crabbe and Goyle's jaws nearly touched the floor. Soon the pace escalated to beyond a danceable speed and Holli and Hagrid stopped dancing to stand and watch the little fiddler's fingers fly. Angelique pulled the last note out and let it linger in the air. She tossed her bright Celtic locks from in front of her face and amidst the cheers challenged Malfoy, "Did **_that_** prove it to you?" Holli stepped to her side, "Did he say you couldn't play or something?" Angel smiled, "He told me to prove the story I told you about my daddy giving me his fiddle when I was three." Holli faced Malfoy and with the same Celtic defiance stepped in front of him, blocking his attention from going anywhere else, "Eat dirt, Malfoy," she turned her back to him, "Three cheers for Angelique Marie LeFay!" The gathering of students cheered enthusiastically for the little Celt and Holli then ushered Angel from her crowd of now-devoted fans to the Hufflepuff dorm. Malfoy and his two partners in crime were left alone in the now deserted hallway. His eyes followed Angel and Holli as they left, "Some day we have got to find a way to knock her off her little pedestal- it can't be that hard, she's only eight." The other two boys nodded their heads in silent agreement. Trouble would come for Angelique Marie LeFay, and soon.

Nothing happened on the sixth and seventh that Anne found extraordinary in any way, shape, or form. She woke up on the eighth with her past weighing heavily on her mind. She knew this would be a difficult day for her daughter. Angel was sitting at the table flipping through her old photo album when Anne came back from her morning shower. Anne sighed, "Angel baby- I'll be outside for the most of today- you can have the time to yourself, O.K.?" Angel nodded as her big green eyes reflected the torchlight of the dimly lit February morning, "Yeah mum. Thanks." Angel turned her back on her mother and returned to her pictures. This was the anniversary of the death of the LeFays. Angel would be very quiet today as she thought about her parents throughout the day.

Contemplative and remorseful were Anne's steps as she left the room after dressing in her heavy black velvet dress. It was a bit fancy for a simple winter day, but it was warm and would keep her from catching a chill while wearing her black velvet cloak over her dress. Anne began to take the stairs up to the Entry Hall to leave the building when for some reason she was compelled to turn back. The Potions lab- if there was any day to go and speak to Severus about her past weighing on her mind, it would have to be this one.

Anne knocked softly on the large, heavy door and hoped that an answer would come from within. She waited for a moment, and hearing no answer, she slowly turned around to leave as a deep sigh escaped her saddened heart. As she took her first few steps away from the Potions classroom she heard a quiet creaking from behind her. She turned around slowly and met the gaze of Professor Snape, "Miss Schetzek? Was there a reason you knocked?" Anne smiled, "Yes." He raised an eyebrow, "Well...what is it you knocked for?" Anne bowed her head, her eyes cast to the floor, "Can we take a walk? I need to talk to you." He nodded, "Where?" She raised her slowly flooding eyes to meet his, "Outside, please."

The quiet pair walked outside in the silent winter air in a soft, swirling falling of large, fluffy snowflakes. The hood of Anne's cloak obscured her face from anyone watching the solemn wizards breaking the crisp scene with their footprints. Snape sighed and then broke the silence, "Anne, what did you want to tell me when we came out here?" Anne caught a snowflake on her black-gloved hand, "The past yet again- it is a bit of a memorable day, in a bad respect." He watched wind whisk faster, carrying the still gentile snowfall in swirling circles in the air. The heavy snowfall created a strong silence that seemed to blanket the entire world of Hogwarts, "Anne, I may not be able to be of any help to you in this, but feel free to speak all that you feel the need to- if it helps." Anne let a smile flicker across her visage, "I understand- it just provides me with a small amount of comfort to know that there is someone else here who shares my past- who knows what I have been through and can relate." She paused and let the snow fall gently on her outstretched hands, "Why did you leave him? He offered us so much while in his service- security, a station in society that could only move up, money to buy all we would ever need, all the things we would need in out jobs to succeed and progress, and time to discover and develop our skills, along with anything else we could ever wish for, if we worked diligently and faithfully. He offered us more than we could ask for, but we both left. Why?" 

Snape stopped walking for a moment before beginning his story, "My reason is similar to yours in situation. You know about what happened with my brother, Robert. That event was the reason I left. It wasn't only my brother who died that night- I also was responsible for the deaths of his wife and three children. It was an easy task at first- neither of the parents made any fuss; the two older children went the same way. Then I came to the youngest- she was six and looked so much like my dead sister, Vanessa. I hesitated as she spoke, words I will never forget, 'Uncle Severus- Mum and Da' told me that you have done many bad things because you have been mixing with some bad men. I know you will probably hurt me, but if you ever stop talking to the bad men, then I know I will forgive you from Heaven, 'cause you are my uncle and I love you.' I can't believe I still cast that spell." Severus sighed and stared off into the woods for a moment. Then he continued with his story, "At that time I thought nothing of it, it was my job, nothing was to be thought of it. Later in the week, things began to go awry in the Dark Arts. All of our faults and failures were flung up in our face and I began to think that I had nothing in this world that would withstand the onslaught. I began to think that if I had let her live, then there would be something to love me, give me hope. I kept thinking about how much she had looked like Vanessa. Vanessa had died when I was still here in Hogwarts- her heart was weak and there was nothing anyone could do for her. She had been the one in the family who knew how to relate to me and we never fought between ourselves."

Anne stopped walking and slowly turned in to Severus, "I'm so sorry...I..." their eyes met, "If you will let me know you and call you friend, then I will love you as a friend would- that is, if you will let me _**be**_ a friend." He flinched as she took his cold hands in her warm gloves and gently squeezed them. She smiled as he sighed and glanced over his shoulder to the school; he was uncomfortable in the silent stillness of the late morning. Anne spoke as he turned his face back toward her, "Come on, let's get back inside before we catch cold or freeze to death." Without another word they slowly turned to walk back to the castle. She was still holding his hand when they reached the double doors. She let go and carefully opened the doors and held them for him as he passed through and them. Anne closed the doors as he waited for her on the other side. Together they walked to the Dungeons and stood awkwardly outside the doors to their separate chambers. Anne smiled, "Do you want to come in for hot chocolate?" He shook his head, "No thank you." Anne knocked on the door to her chambers and listened to Angel's little feet scamper to answer, "Where you been, Mum?" Anne stopped as she heard her name called from behind her, "Anne?" She turned to the source of the voice; Severus Snape. "Thank you." Anne smiled; she knew that she had cemented a friendship that would last far longer than her work in the Dark Arts had. She nodded to him and beamed, "No problem."

She entered her room and closed the door behind her with a soft click. Angel closed her photo album, "Mum, I've been thinking- it has been quite a while, and I can't bring them back, so let's just go get something sweet from the kitchens." Anne raised an eyebrow, "After lunch- and what is this all about- you are grinning like the Cheshire cat!" Angel's grin grew more mischievous, "I'm getting a little suspicious about you and Snape- you 'barely know him', eh?" Anne blushed, "All right- we're friends- but that is **_all_** , little miss, got that?" Angel continued her Cheshire cat grin, "Yeah Mum, whatever you say..."

The entire next week was devoted to the musical. Her cast list was posted on the door to the Great Hall on Monday morning, and there was such a crush of students trying to read the sign that Hagrid was late for breakfast, as were Snape and McGonagall- incidences which were completely unprecedented. Anne smiled as Severus sat down with a huff. He was not pleased at the delay. Anne anxiously awaited the beginning of class that day- rehearsals would begin.

Narrator: Holli MacCumhail

Joseph: Neville Longbottom

Jacob: Ron Weasley

Potiphar: Stewart Ackerly

Potiphar's wife: Jadelyn Riddle (*cast later)

Pharaoh: Lee Jordan

Butler: Alicia Spinnet

Baker: Ginny Weasley

Reuben: Dean Thomas

Simeon: Adrian Pucey

Levi: Ernie MacMillan

Napthali: Fred Weasley

Isaachar: George Weasley

Asher: Owen Cauldwell

Dan: Draco Malfoy

Zebulun: Goyle

Gad: Crabbe

Benjamin: Colin Crevey

Judah: Stewart Ackerly

Wife 1: Hermione Granger

Wife 2: Ginny Weasley

Wife 3: Susan Bones

Ishmaelite 1: Hermione Granger

Ishmaelite 2: Susan Bones

Ishmaelite 3: Blaise Zabini

Chorus: Jadelyn Riddle, Lee Jordan, Alicia Spinnet, Ginny Weasley, Susan Bones, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Hannah Abbott, Elenore Branstone, Cho Chang, Mandy Brocklehurst

As with any show, the first day of rehearsal was quite a zoo. No one really knew what they were doing, either vocally or in the realm of acting. Anne sighed after the hour was up and stood up on her desk, "Hey, attention to you all- go to the dorms tonight and here is your homework: read through the entire script, figure out when you are onstage as chorus and/or character, highlight your lines, and then get familiar with your part. If you want to read the actual story of Joseph, it is in the Bible around the 30th chapter of Genesis. Go and rest up for tomorrow. If you have questions, feel free to ask me. Catch you at dinner!"

That night at dinner there was a bit of an excitement among the teeming masses of students. Rumours stated that there might be a new student coming to Hogwarts. Before the meal started, Albus rose and the room fell silent, "Ladies and gentlemen, as you have probably heard, there will be a new student beginning her studies her at Hogwarts tomorrow. Her name is Miss Jadelyn Riddle," Snape twitched while Harry, Hermione, and Ron all made eye-contact. Anne decided to ask Snape about the new student later, Albus continued, "Miss Riddle will be entering as a seventh year and has been sorted into Slytherin house. She is currently dealing with the paper work and hassle that the Ministry is so experienced at giving. I am expecting that you all will give Miss Riddle a warm welcome as she begins her time her at Hogwarts." Albus sat down and dinner began. Anne decided to wait until after dinner to bring the subject of Miss Riddle up with Severus- he was in what would be classified as a good mood for him and Anne did not wish to spoil this rare occasion.

After the meal Anne headed for her chamber to work on her plans for the next day's rehearsals. On her way out of the Great Hall she was stopped by Angel, "Mum? Can I spend the evening with Harry and company?" Anne smiled as the inseparable trio joined Angel, "Oh, why not?" the four kids cheered, as they turned to leave, Anne shouted after them, "Be home by 10:00 and don't be outside any later than between 8:30 and 9:00!" Angel disappeared into the crowd with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Anne began to make her way toward home when she heard a voice from behind her call out, "Miss Schetzek?" Anne turned to face her addresser and discovered that it was Albus, "Miss Schetzek, if you wouldn't mind coming to my office, there is some business I would like to discuss with you concerning Miss Riddle."

Anne followed Albus up to his office and she patiently waited for the old wizard to speak. He sat down behind his desk and gestured for her to seat herself in a large chair opposite him, "Miss Schetzek, I think there is something about Miss Riddle that you should know. She has been home schooled for the past six years of her wizardry education, so she is entering as a seventh year. She may need to take some of the classes that the younger students need to take, depending on the strengths of her tutor. She is incredibly powerful, that I could see in her demonstrations that she showed me to assure me that she was capable in her craft. The fact that I believe that you should know about Miss Riddle is that her father is Tom Riddle, now known as Voldemort."

Anne sat in shock for a second, "Who has she been living with?" Albus smiled, "She has been living with her grandfather and her mother. Her grandfather taught her all she knows- his name is Nigel. It is unlikely that you will hear her refer to her family, but if she does, I thought that you should be forewarned," he could see that there was another concern in her eyes and he guessed it perfectly, "Yes, Anne, Severus is aware of this fact. Do not worry, he has had contact with her family before and knows how to deal with Miss Riddle. I have heard that she tends to play a few pranks now and then, but nothing that will hurt anyone. She is rather solitary, but I did give her your name for someone to contact if she has problems adjusting." Anne smiled, "I'll take care to meet her as soon as possible and help her get settled in. I am sure that she will get along just fine here." Albus could tell that Anne was a bit nervous having the daughter of Voldemort at the school, but he was sure that her fears would soon be put to rest when she met the new student.

February eleventh came and Anne was surprised to see a young woman with waist length black hair standing outside of her classroom, waiting for her to open the room before class. Anne smiled at the girl dressed all in black, her pale skin contrasting heavily with her chosen garb. Her pale lips parted and she addressed Anne, "Hello, I was told by Minerva that you are teaching soon." Anne smiled, the girl's voice was low and gentle as she spoke and Anne wondered immediately if she sang. Anne extended her hand, "I do. I presume that you are Miss Jadelyn Riddle?" The girl nodded, "Yes, I am. Albus told me that you knew about my father and that you would be able to help me here?" Anne laughed and opened the door, "Albus told you about my little history- I can help you adjust and get settled in here. This place is quite different from what you may expect; we are all quite the family here." Jadelyn entered the room after Anne and looked around the welcoming classroom, "Where should I sit?" Anne pointed to five seats throughout the classroom that were usually vacant. Then she pointed to the back corner, "If you prefer to sit apart from the others and then move up, or just to sit apart from them for whatever reason, that desk in the corner can be used too- go ahead and turn it around so that you can sit behind it and still see the front of the classroom." Jadelyn moved to the back of the room and set her things on the desk in the corner. Anne walked back to Jadelyn and together the two women turned around the mahogany desk. Jadelyn slid behind it and smiled, "Yes, this will suit me wonderfully, thank you Miss Schetzek." Anne walked to the front of the classroom and pulled a notebook out of a drawer in her desk, "Miss Riddle, do you sing?" Jadelyn tipped her head slightly to the side, "That depends on what you need sung." Anne handed her the one remaining part from 'Joseph' and the chorus booklet, "This class is putting on the Broadway production of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'. I need the part of Potiphar's wife sung, and you would be a chorus member when not onstage, if you wish to sing that role." Jadelyn nodded, "I am somewhat familiar with the musical and anyway, Nigel read the story of Joseph to me when I was six." Anne sighed happily, "Well, how about you try it out during class today, we are rehearsing, and if you like it, then you can have the part, no question about it." Jadelyn nodded, "Miss Schetzek, I believe we have a deal." Anne shook Jadelyn's extended hand, "Amen! By the way, you can call me Anne- there is no need for formality here!"

The students began to filter into the classroom, many of them whispering amongst themselves about the silent, black clad girl in the back corner. Before she began teaching, Anne addressed her class, "Many of you here have probably already met or seen our new student, but just in case you haven't, be sure to make Miss Riddle feel comfortable here. Today we will be beginning our intense rehearsals that will last through this week and then on weekends after that until we present the show in March. We will be doing one show, so it had better be astounding. Everyone needs to take out their music and get ready to rehearse Act one." 

The rehearsal seemed to be moving a bit slowly until Jadelyn stepped up to fill in the part of Mrs. Potiphar. She took the stage by storm with her one sung line, but it was not simply her voice which filled the room, she had an undisputed stage presence that stated, 'this is my place.' Anne loved it and each time that Jadelyn sang with the chorus it sounded fuller, clearer, and everything began to fall into place. After class, Jade vanished from the classroom before anyone could comment on her influence. Anne stood by herself at the head of the classroom as it emptied with a feeling of elation rising. The play would definitely be a hit.

Later that day, Angelique was walking back from Professor McGonagall's office when she heard a voice coming from behind her, "So, little girl, where do you think you're going?" It was Goyle. Crabbe quickly came around in front of her as Draco came beside her, "You crossed the line the other day with that little fiddling stunt." Crabbe and Goyle closed in and pulled the angrily defiant child to a corner. Crabbe lifted her off her feet and began to tough-talk to her, threatening her over and over while Goyle stood by and attempted to look like he was strong. Draco nodded at everything they said and acted like a Mafia boss, quietly observing everything his men did. Angelique maintained her defiant yet unafraid attitude, no one messed with a LeFay and got away with it, especially a LeFay who was descended from the Lady Morrighan herself, Don Dorcha, Finn MacCumhail, and Queen Mab! No one noticed a silent, black clad woman drifting in behind them. She shoved Draco aside, and, with her long black hair flying around her, struck like a scorpion at Crabbe. He whirled around and stared into her cold grey eyes as she addressed him, a deadly authority hanging in her low voice, "Leave the child alone." He tried to shove past her, but with a whisk of her hand he had crashed into the far wall. She turned to Goyle who stood still as a statue in her way. He soon found himself sliding across the hall on his back. Draco stood by with a look plastered on his face that asked the woman, 'how dare you?' He said nothing, but she read his expression perfectly, "I would beware what you say next, Mr. Malfoy." Draco looked stunned, "How do you know my name? I only saw you in Anne's class, and she calls me Draco.... And what do you mean by 'I should beware what I say next? You don't scare me, my father-" She cut him off, "Your father is nothing to me. I know your name because I know your father's business, and I know that my father owns your father's soul." Draco's visage became puzzled and he spoke with a hesitant awe, "Your father...what?" She smiled, "You know my name. I am Jadelyn Adelaide Vanessa Riddle. Go and find out who my father is, then tell me if I am wrong." Jadelyn turned her attention to Angel, "Little one, let's get you were you need to go." Angel took Jadelyn's hand, "I was heading to Mum's chamber in the dungeons when these idiots jumped me. I suppose that is where I need to go. My name is Angelique Marie LeFay! By the way, how did you do that, fling them around and all? That was so wicked! Can you teach me?" Jadelyn laughed at the barrage of questions, "We'll see about that. Who is your mum?" Angelique grinned as she happily danced alongside Jadelyn, her red locks bouncing with the rhythm of her step, "M' Mum is Anne Schetzek, she teaches about Muggle stuff. She's probably not in the classroom anymore, so let's go to our chambers. They are in the dungeons." Jadelyn nodded, "All right, I had your mum's class today. Where in the dungeons do you live?" Angel answered, "Next to the Potions lab." Jadelyn sighed, "Oh, O.K., let's get you home then, shall we?"

Together the two girls walked to the Dungeons, Angel singing and skipping the entire time while she nearly dragged Jadelyn along side her. As they passed the Potions lab, the door nearly opened into Jadelyn. She turned to the source of the disturbance and met the eyes of Professor Snape. Angel stopped her dancing and stared; Jadelyn and Severus had the same expression on their faces, a look of anger at the distraction from their path paired with a look of curious, distant recognition. Jadelyn shook her head, "Sorry Professor," she turned to Angel, "Come on, show me where your mum lives."

Angel flung open the door to the Schetzek chambers to find her mother sitting on the table with papers spread out everywhere, "Mum, I'm home! And guess what? Jade saved me from stupid ol’ Draco Malfoy's gang." Anne sat up straight, "What were they doing now?" Jadelyn softly closed the door and ushered Angel farther into the room, "Anne, the situation looked as though they were going to harm Miss LeFay. I just did what I had to." Anne nodded, "Well, thank you, Miss Riddle- Angel baby, why were they trying to hurt you?" Angel shrugged, "I think it was because of the fiddle incident- anyway, one of the ugly idiots picked me up by the collar and pinned me to the wall while the other one provided moral support. Draco looked like a mob boss, leaning on the wall all cocky and confident. No one gets away with messing with a LeFay...no one!" Anne smiled at her little girl, "Come here, love- don't worry, we will get detentions for the whole group of them- and if they deny it, well, no one messes with a Schetzek either!" She hugged Angel and let the little girl join her on the table. Angel clamoured onto Anne's lap and waved to Jadelyn, "Jade, thank you- you need to come over a lot and teach me about how you slammed those guys around, o.k.?" Jadelyn laughed and turned toward the door, "Of course, milady. I have to go and work on all my catch-up work." Anne called out to her as she left, "Thank you Miss Riddle!" Jadelyn turned around and grinned, "Call me Jade, after all, there is no need for formality here."

Friday was Valentines Day, and at Hogwarts, one could expect that it was not going to be a normal day. Angel skipped through the halls singing snippets of old songs and amended songs from Ophelia's lines in Hamlet. Anne wore black as usual and avoided any romantic themed events the entire day. She discovered quite by accident that Professor Snape was doing the same thing. She was sitting in her chambers, preparing for her classes when she heard his all too familiar voice shout through her wall, " ** _SILENCE!_** There will be none of these silly ideas of love potions in my class!" Anne sighed; apparently he was not a romantic. Half an hour later and she heard a nearly identical warning ring out over her soft playing of her Irish harp. She let her hands fall from the strings and sighed, it would be most probable that her classroom would be quieter. 

During class that day she had her students continue working on the play. At the end of the hour she found a little box of candy hearts on her desk, accompanied by a little note, "Just a little greeting to your class from an Angel and a Black Dragon. After all, there is no need for formality here..." Anne smiled mischievously; she knew who had put the little box on her desk. She opened it and set it on the little phonograph table next to her desk, wondering which of her students would dare to take the candy. She dismissed the class and slipped out of the classroom, leaving the key with Jade and telling her to lock up the room. Half an hour later she returned to the room and, finding it locked, sought out Jadelyn. She found the seventh year laughing with Angel in the Slytherin common room. Anne sighed, "What on this earth are you two laughing about now?" Jade controlled herself for a moment and managed to stammer, "Those candies- garlic! So rich- Draco- two!!" Anne was puzzled, "What does that mean?" Angel caught her breath, "The candies on your desk were from Jade and I, we thought of it last night and she bought them off the Weasley twins, they were garlic- Harry, Hermione, and Ron all knew it was us- they saw us making the deal with the twins- and Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle each took two of them- you should have seen their faces! That was priceless..." Anne began to laugh, "What a pair you have become, and you have only known each other for what, three days? This is going to be one long year..."

The weekend flew by, filled with musical rehearsals and planning for the next week. The first two days of the week were spotless, with the students breaking from rehearsals and presenting their comparisons of dance methods. On Wednesday, the spotlessness ended. Anne was sitting in her room after lunch filing grades when she heard a resounding explosion which shook the floor beneath her emanating from the Potions lab. For a few seconds afterwards there was nothing but silence. Anne hurried next door. The students were crawling up from the floor, a few of the braver students had ventured forward toward Snape's desk. Anne moved through the students and finally a Ravenclaw second year told her what had happened, "We were sitting here watching Professor Snape mix a potion to soothe boils when his cauldron exploded. We don't know why, or what happened to him- there was no warning." Anne nodded and nearly ran to the front of the room where Snape would have been demonstrating. She addressed the class, "All right- I want each and every one of you to report to the medical wing- I will be sure that Poppy sees all of you. Class is dismissed for today. Go now and have yourselves checked out so that you can be sure you have suffered no ill effects of this." The students quickly vacated the room, leaving Anne apparently alone. She kneeled behind the demonstrations desk and gently raised Severus' unconscious form to a sitting position. She gently cradled him to her body, softly whispering to him under his breath, "Wake up, come on Severus, come on..." He moaned as he began to come to; she stroked his hair and uttered soothing tones barely audibly. She heard his door silently open and click shut; she froze, a voice began to speak, "Well, well, well, what have we here... a little mishap in the Lab- what a pity..." Anne sat paralysed, still holding a barely conscious Severus in a sitting position. She knew that Severus was awakening, but she needed him to remain quiet. She knew the voice; it was Eddwords, "What a surprise, you who are so careful," he mocked, "you slipped in your mixing and added the wrong bottle to your cauldron- and here I am to gloat to an empty room- and your dead body..." Anne heard footsteps; Severus was drifting back to the unconscious. Anne hid under the table and guided Severus under the desk with her. A knock came at the door and it swung open; another voice joined the conversation, this one friendlier, “Eddwords...fancy finding you here!” It was Albus; Anne sighed and waited, "Eddwords, leave- you are not here for any good." Eddwords protested, "But I heard the explosion and ran here to see if anyone had been injured- I dismissed the class to the medical wing and am now attempting to find Professor Snape." Albus held up his hand, "No other comments are wanted- leave." Anne heard the door click shut; Albus walked to the desk and came around behind it to peer at Anne and Severus, "Let's wake him up, shall we?" Anne nodded as Albus helped her manoeuvre Severus out from under the desk. Albus chanted something under his breath and waved his wand over Severus' body and Severus began to awaken, groaning as Anne helped him to sit up on his own. She left her arm around him, gently rubbing his back to soothe his obviously flustered soul.

The next four days seemed to go fairly smoothly, but everyone was still recovering from the shock of the accident in Professor Snape's class. Albus reassured the entire student body that it was not Professor Snape's fault, and through the weekend Anne left little quotes of encouragement pinned to Severus' door. Her rehearsals went off without hitches and Anne was beginning to work with students on the technical aspects of the theatre. 

On Monday Anne began a new unit in her class: theatre. She figured that it perfectly tied into the play which they were working on and they could perhaps gain inspiration by working with other musicals. She began the session with **_The Phantom of the Opera_** , "Well, does anyone here today know anything about Broadway shows or musical theatre?" Jade and Holli raised their hands, "O.K., does anyone here know the story of **_The Phantom of the Opera_** , by Gaston Leroux? No, yes, maybe?" Once again only Jade and Holli responded, Anne sighed, "Right- the story can be found in the text packet which you found on your desk when you got in here- your first assignment will be to read the text for **_Les Miserables_** for tomorrow- take a few minutes now to read the basic storyline of Phantom." She let the students read the two page overview of the story and of the production's differences from the original plot, "Does anyone here know anything about the music composed for this production? O.K., Jade and Holli, since you two seem to be the only ones here who know what I am talking about, you may have to help me out." Anne pulled an audio tape out of her desk drawer and set it in the tape deck on her desk, "We will begin by listening to the music of this show- in case you did not get the memo I sent, class today is three hours long- much of it is listening to and then talking about each scene in this production. The rest of the week will be set up the same."

And Anne spoke correctly; the rest of the week was spent listening to and discovering the stories and symbols of theatre. On Tuesday Anne introduced her students to **_Les Miserables_** , on Wednesday to **_RENT_** , on Thursday to **_West Side Story_** , and on Friday they dove into **_Cats_**. Outside of class, nothing unusual at all occurred until Thursday. 

On Thursday, Anne, Jade, and Angel were walking from dinner to the dungeons when they ran into Eddwords. He was fuming while pacing the halls, muttering about Death Eaters at Hogwarts. Jade stepped up close behind him, "What about the daughter of the Dark Lord, do you have a problem with me too?" Eddwords spun around, "Miss Riddle, what are you doing down here?! This area of the building is restricted." Jade mocked, "It is restricted, oooh, scary! Albus never told any of us that, did he ladies?" Angel shook her head, "Never said a thing- you tell him sister, never said a thing!" Anne laughed and shrugged. Jade continued her protest with her arms crossed firmly over her chest, "So, since none of us recall this restriction, I suggest you get your face out of my way before I have to move you myself." Eddwords sneered, "What are you going to do, cast on me?" Jade grinned a grin that made Eddwords shiver, "Yes, Eddwords, I am going to cast on you, and this is one spell that you can't do a thing about." Before Eddwords knew what had hit him, he found himself in a full body locked curse, unable to even move his lips in protest. Jade grinned at Anne, "So, what do we do with our little pet now?" Anne put her hands on her hips and was about to make a suggestion when Angel chirped, "Stick him in the girl's bathroom!" Jade nodded, "Great idea, little lady- hold open the door while I drag him, and Anne, whatever happens, none of us did this, right?" Anne let her own heart speak, "What? Where? Eddwords in the girl's bathroom? That bastard- no, I hadn't heard..." Her cocky grin taunted Eddwords as Jade shoved him under the sink, and, with a grin and a little wave, said, "See you later...."

That Friday Jade received a note from Albus Dumbledore- she had been called to meet with him. She entered his office after classes and saw Eddwords sitting near the desk. Jade sighed, she knew what was about to transpire. To her surprise, the events did not flow as she had expected; she was not given any sort of punishment, but was dismissed by Albus saying that she was under stress about the accident in the Potions lab.

Saturday, Anne drifted over to the Potions lab, having not seen Professor Snape at lunch. She knocked on the door and heard a gruff reply, "Who is it?" She gently pushed the door open, peering around the corner into the room, "It's just me, Anne. Can I come in for a moment?" He sighed, "Yes Anne- close the door after you." She made her way to the front of the room and leaned on his desk, "Are you O.K.? The students are circulating some pretty evil rumours." Severus nodded, "I heard; most of them have been conveniently stated just under the breath and near my desk." Anne shook her head, "Idiots...don't they listen to the Headmaster when he says that even though he cannot say with whom the fault lies, it is not with you?" Severus stopped scrawling comments on the test in front of him. He sighed and set the pen down. Anne stood behind him and gently rubbed his shoulders; to her surprise, he did not protest. He leaned his arms on the desk and seemed to deflate with one giant sigh, his head lowering to rest on top of the stack of tests he was grading. Anne moved beside him and rubbed his back, finally putting her arm around his shoulders and letting him just be in a state of nothingness. Someone knocked on the door; he slowly pulled himself up and regained his hardened composure, "Anne, would you please get that?" She nodded and with a soft smile let her arm fall back to her side and went to answer the door. She greeted the students at the door, "Harry, Ron, Hermione, hello- what do you need?" Ron spoke first, "We want to know what happened last week with the explosion; some other students are being really odd about it all." Anne took a deep breath, "I can't tell you everything- Albus is not letting us divulge all the details, but what I can tell you is this; Severus is completely innocent. Someone accessed the Potions lab and switched the contents of the vial which Severus was using." Hermione looked puzzled, "Do you know who did it?" Anne nodded, "Albus and I do indeed have a suspect, however it is not accessible information to you." Harry grinned, "Thanks- we thought that it was something more than just an accident on his part, he's too careful to do that." Anne tilted her head, "Anything else?" They shrugged that they were done and left as Anne shut the door. She returned to the desk and Severus addressed her, "There is a suspect? Why did no one tell me?" Anne sat on a desk, "Albus said that it would be best if we concealed the identity of our suspect so that word would not get out and so that you would not be tempted to take matters into your own hands. It is for your own safety that we do this- trust me, if I was allowed to, I would have told you." He went back to grading tests. Anne tilted her head; someone was in the hall approaching the classroom on light feet. She doubted that Severus could hear it. A tentative knocking met their ears. Anne smiled; she could tell by the little pattern that the guest was none other than her little Angel. Anne turned to Severus, "Can she come in? It's Angel- that I know for certain." He nodded, "Come." Angel drifted into the room, "Mum- what is going on; is everything O.K.? I felt something through the walls." She looked over at Professor Snape, "It was him." Severus glanced up at Anne, "What is this?" Anne nodded to Angel, "Go ahead and tell him, he will keep your secret for you." Angel took a deep breath, "I have a gift that I can feel other people's emotions if they are strong enough. I'm sorry that I read yours without you knowing, I can't help it; it just happens sometimes...don't be mad at me, please?" Severus spoke seriously, "Do not worry, I will keep your secret safe, but I ask that you do not share what you have seen with anyone except your mother, who already knows." Angel nodded and then continued talking, "Mom, we got called on the Eddwords incident number one- he told Albus. Thankfully Albus dismissed it all as being provoked by the explosion, "Severus looked curious so Angel continued, "We, um, threw him in the girl's bathroom." Anne could have sworn that a brief smile flickered across Severus' face, "Well, that's not so bad, is it? At least you got away with it- who all was involved?" Anne grinned as Angel recited the three names, "Me, and Jade, and Mum. It was fun and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Another thing, I made a spoon turn into a butterfly and Crabbe killed it and said Professor Snape should be more careful before he was crushed too, so I decked him. I think he is going to come to you, Professor Snape, and tell on me-" The door flew open and there stood Crabbe, "Snape! That little red-headed brat punched me!" Professor Snape stood up and came face to face with Crabbe, "If you are not tough enough to take a hit from a child, then I believe that you have no right to whine to me about it. Mr. Crabbe, grow up." Crabbe protested, "But-" Snape cut him off, "I will deal with Miss LeFay in my own time; you are to leave her alone." Crabbe turned to leave with a cocky grin; Snape was not done talking, "Mr. Crabbe, the next time you want justice, I recommend that you do not say that the one you are coming to should be more careful before he is crushed." Crabbe turned pale and quickly ran from the room. Angel ran up to Professor Snape, "Thank you for not giving me detention yet." Snape bent down to her, "Little Angel, you know that I should not let you get away with hitting him, but since your mother has done so much for me and I am not to fond of Crabbe anyway, how about you serve your 'detention' with your mother and I this Sunday evening by joining us for dinner in the Great Hall?" Angel's face glowed, "You mean I get to sit at the front with all the teachers?" Severus almost grinned, "I think so- don't you Anne?" Anne nodded, "Hey, as long as we don't get in trouble for having her up there, I'm fine with it."

The rest of the day was spent in musical rehearsals, as was the majority of the day Sunday. Angel excitedly donned her black robes overtop of her full black skirt and her black blouse- she wanted to look nice for her dinner with the teachers. Angel proudly walked into the Great Hall with her mother, both of them clad in black. Anne and her daughter held their heads high as they ascended the staircase up to the teacher's platform. Snape had pulled an extra chair up between Anne and his seats and Angel plopped into it readily. She gazed out at all the students in amazement, happy to be sitting between her mother and her neighbour. Anne greeted Professor Snape and gracefully slid into her chair, not minding that she was a little crowded; after all, it's not often that a mother is blesséd by her child's presence at the Head Table for dinner!

The next week Anne decided that she would be teaching her class about the origins of the culture of the British Isles. She began her class on Monday by asking her class to write a brief essay on what society they believed had originally inhabited the islands and then to discuss who had invaded and what society they were currently living in. The week went on with Anne dating backwards from the Modern mix of peoples, Anglo-Saxon culture, the Anglo-Norman culture, and finally the Celtic society. She briefly covered the previous and little known societies. That weekend she was back to rehearsals. 

Monday, March tenth began Anne's unit on the Celts. Angel had asked if she could sit in and help her mother teach the stories of her peoples. On Tuesday they began studying music. Angel brought in her fiddle; Anne, her harp; Hagrid, his flute; and to everyone's surprise, Jade showed up to class with a set of pipes. Each person told a little about their instrument and then they played a short tune. At the end of the class, Jade whispered something in Anne's ear. Anne smiled and gathered the other instrumentalists together, "We are going to end this with **_Scotland the Brave_** , do you all know that?" Everyone nodded and Anne counted off. Halfway through the song, the door slit open. At the end of the song it quietly clicked shut.

Anne arrived back at her room that day to find a scripted note pinned to her door, "Miss Schetzek, you play the harp wonderfully." Anne smiled, there was only one person she knew that had that distinct handwriting but would have not left his name; Severus Snape. That evening at dinner she handed him a folded square of paper. He unfolded it and read, "Thanks! You peeked in my classroom, didn't you?"

The next day Anne and Angel once again donned their Irish Step dancing garb and demonstrated storytelling through dance and country dancing. On Thursday the little family shared their knowledge of the history of the Celts, most of the class being taught by an over-eager Angelique. Friday would be fun; Angel had an ace up her sleeve and a few special plans for her mother.

Friday came and Anne entered her classroom only to find that it no longer looked like her classroom. The desks were all lining the hall and her desk and phonograph table were pushed into the front left corner of the classroom. Anne noticed that Jadelyn's desk was also pushed back into the corner, leaving the room incredibly open. Angelique ducked into the room and surveyed the scene, "Well, Hagrid did a wonderful job here, don't you think so, Mum?" Anne raised her eyebrows, "If you mean he cleared the room well, I would say he did a stellar job with that. The only question is why?" Angelique grinned, "Why Mum, what is a better way to end a week of Celtic studies than with a Ceildhe?" Anne looked sceptical, "And how do you plan on pulling this off?" Angelique shrugged, "I play fiddle, Jade plays pipes, Holli plays fiddle, accordion, dances, and sings, Winky agreed to bring up food, in fact, here the house elves come now, and the room is our dance floor. That is how I plan to pull this off- oh, and don't be surprised if some of the staff shows up, I was asking them questions about the logistics of this all week." Anne stepped back as Winky and a train of house elves loaded the desks up with food and drink and the band gathered in the room to begin playing before the event began.

The students walked into the classroom as the band began to play a casual reel. The seemed to be confused until Minerva McGonagall entered the room with Hagrid and the both of them began to laugh and dance. Other staff members began to file in and the party was soon in full swing, with only Draco and his gang being wallflowers. Jadelyn set down her pipes and winked at Angel, "Play something spirited- I'll be right back." Jadelyn danced her way across the room and dragged Draco, to his surprise and the surprise of the other students, onto the dance floor. He began to protest and Jadelyn retorted, "You'll only waste your life away if all you do is stand against the wall and watch it happen to everyone else; now shut up and dance." So he did, it wouldn't have paid for him to try to argue with Jadelyn anyway.

Halfway through the hour, Professor Snape appeared in the doorframe. From the front desk, Anne noticed him standing there, looking rather out of place. She made her way around the band and greeted him. He nodded back and Anne continued, "Would you come in and join us? There's food aplenty and the dancing is merry." With a slight shake of his head he declined her invitation, "No thank you- may I speak to you for a moment?" Anne nodded, "Of course- in the hall?" He nodded and they stepped out of the joyful Ceildhe.

Once in the hall, Snape asked Anne, "What exactly is this Ceildhe? Angelique invited everyone she could think of, but I am not sure that many knew what they were getting into." Anne let a gentle grin creep across her face, "She has a tendency to speak in her own terms and forget that we don't always understand her. A Ceildhe is a very old Celtic tradition where the people of the town or community, or whoever else happens to hear about it, gather together in one place to sing, dance, eat, and share stories. Really a Ceildhe is the old way of gathering everyone and bonding them together. Usually, in Éire where many Ceildhe's take place, everyone knows everyone else at the Ceildhe and it is held at a local pub, or at the barn or house of the host family. I went to a few while I was running- they were fun and the entire community would then help Angel and I hide- we would move from house to house and effectively evade any pursuers that we were particularly concerned about." Snape nodded, "I see. I also heard Angel mentioning that her birthday is coming up- when is that?" Anne looked back into the room and watched her little girl begin a rousing reel, "She is a Saint Patrick's child- her birthday falls on his Day. She likes to claim that the date helped her to be more 'Celtic' than she would have been had she been born on another day." Snape nodded, "Well, I had better let you get back to your Ceildhe, best luck on **_Joseph_** this Sunday." He turned on his heels and left down the hall, back to the darkness of the dungeons; Anne returned to the Ceildhe.

Sunday the sixteenth came sooner than Anne would have expected. She helped her students get into costume and makeup and then ran to check on her stage crew. Everything was running on schedule, until Holli discovered that she was losing her voice; Holli was supposed to be narrating. Jadelyn proposed a solution, "Here, if you wish, I can take the narration and you can have the lines of Mrs. Potiphar. The chorus is fine without either of us, and this way you only have to sing one line." Holli eagerly agreed and dove into the script to make sure that she really did know everything there was to know about the part of Mrs. Potiphar. The rest of the cast was a bit nervous; Jadelyn had never practiced the narrator's role.

The curtain rose and Jade waited for her musical cue,

_Some folks dream of the wonders they'll do  
_ _Before their time on this planet is through  
_ _Some just don't have anything planned  
_ _They hide their hopes and their heads in the sand..._

The show went on.

By the end of Act One, the crowd was cheering wildly; no one had expected that Neville Longbottom would sing the role of Joseph so well. Act Two progressed without a hitch and ended with a standing ovation and two additional curtain calls for the cast and crew. They were overjoyed and Anne was exceptionally proud of her students. After the last curtain call, Holli held all the cast on stage for a moment; the audience simmered down and Holli addressed them, "We did not come this far on our own- the students you see up here made up the cast and crew of this production, but there is someone else who deserves credit for the beauty of our work. This person trained us from theatre illiterates into technically and acting savvy artists of the stage; she spent hours with us in rehearsals making sure that we could run the show on our own once it came time to reveal it to the world. I would like to ask that Miss Annelise Schetzek please come forward." Anne was a bit surprised, but she walked up to the stage and took her place next to Holli. The room erupted in cheers and screams; Anne was certain she even saw Severus standing as the curtain fell.

Angel's birthday and Saint Patrick's Day: Anne's classroom had been set back to rights and as the students each took their seats, Anne played her harp. They all settled into their desks, Anne stopped her playing, and then she addressed the class, "Well, this show was one of the most spectacular days I have had in my entire life. Today is a day of vocal rest and relaxation for you all- a chance to catch up on your homework or studying that you may have neglected due to the chaos of the weekend. Have a productive hour please, and if you need help, I am here."

That evening, Angel and Anne sat together at the Gryffindor table for dinner. Angel happily chattered about her day and how she had managed to get Minerva McGonagall to have the Transfiguration class that Angel had sat in with sing 'Happy Birthday' to her. Angel told everyone at the table that she was now nine years old and that she was very glad that she was one year closer to enrolling in Hogwarts for real. After dinner, Anne and Angel went back to their chambers. Angel opened the door to find Hagrid had beaten them there; Anne winked at Hagrid who then left the room on 'business'. Angel plopped into a chair and nearly began to read her Defence Against the Dark Arts when into the room walked Minerva, Albus, and Hagrid. Hagrid was carrying a birthday cake with nine candles on it while the others sang 'Happy Birthday to Angel. She was overjoyed and blew out all her candles in one big breath. Everyone sat at the large table as Anne pulled a little package out of her sea chest and handed it to Angel. Angel eagerly tore off the wrappings and revealed a Celtic prayer book that Anne had found in an antique shop during their travels. She tilted her head to the side, "Wait here a sec," and darted out the door. Anne was puzzled until she heard Angel's voice through the walls, "Professor Snape! Look what Mum got me for my birthday! You should come next door too! Dumbledore, and Minerva, and Hagrid are all there and we are gonna have cake and it looks so yummy that you should come and help us eat it **_all_**!" There was silence for a moment, and then Angel appeared in the door, followed by a tired Professor Snape. She pulled out a chair for him next to Anne, "Sit here!" He did not argue, rather sat down quietly. They sat and talked while Anne served cake and Angel told everyone about how this was one of her first proper birthdays that she could remember. The last few had been spent in various places around England and Éire. It was nearly nine o'clock before Albus, Minerva, and Hagrid left the room. At that time, Severus also rose to leave. Angel made sure to thank all her guests before they left. She thanked Professor Snape last, giving him a hug and telling him that she was very glad that he had decided to help her celebrate her birthday.

The next day Anne found a little note from Jade pinned to her door, "Anne- I would like to give Angel a kitten for her birthday- is this acceptable to you?" Anne showered, dressed, and met Jadelyn at breakfast, "Jade, go ahead- I think that it would be very encouraging for my little Angel- she is ready to care for another creature; she helped take care of me while we were on the road." Jade grinned broadly, "Thank you, Anne. I will see you in class today and then I will come by your chambers this evening to wish Angel her happy, slightly belated, birthday."

That day in Anne's class they began to talk about classical folk tales. Anne addressed her students, "Is there anyone in here who was raised in the old manner of passing stories and legends down the family line?" Holli and Jadelyn both raised their hands. Anne continued, "Do either of you know the old story of Lusmore and the Fairies of Knockgrafton Hill?" Holli and Jade both nodded. Anne grinned, "All right, I want Holli to tell this one, Jade- do you know the tale of the three sisters for whom Ireland was named?" Jade nodded and Anne pointed at her, "Good, because I would like you to tell it to us on Friday; Holli, let 'er rip!"

Holli began her story, "Once, long ago in the little town of Cappagh there lived a basket maker named Lusmore. Lusmore had a hump on his back that bent him nearly to the ground, but nevertheless, he was the best basket maker that the county had seen in years. On day Lusmore took his baskets to the town of Cahir, as he has always done, and he sold everyone of them. He was tired from his long day and stopped to rest at the crest of Knockgrafton Hill. Before long, Lusmore thought that he could hear music; he listened closer, and sure enough, there were words drifting from somewhere. They went, " _Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday…”._ over and over again. Lusmore looked around the hill, but there was no one there who was singing the lovely tune, so he figured it would have to be coming from inside the hill. It was said in those days that the Tuatha De Dannan lived within the hills as the fairy folk, so this did not seem odd to Lusmore, if only they would change their song! Lusmore thought that he could help them out; he sang, _"Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday!"_ With a fluttering of the air, Lusmore found himself face to face with a tiny man. The little man spoke, "Lusmore! I am the king of the Tuatha De Dannan; your song has delighted my people! We are feasting; you must come and join us and sing our song with your new word!" Lusmore insisted that his singing was not nearly as lovely as that of the fairies, but the king was persistent. Lusmore was whisked in a wind and found himself inside the great hill in a grand hall filled with the fairy people, children of the great Lady Danu. The fairies delighted in hearing him sing their song and they joined him in singing it as soon as they had caught on. The king stood up and addressed his people, "Fellow Tuatha! Lusmore has given us a great gift- we shall give him one in return! Men, come forward and take this fine fellow's hump from his back!" Four warriors stepped forth and lifted Lusmore's hump from his shoulders. When Lusmore stretched his full height he found that he was tall enough to brush the top of the cavern with the sprig of foxglove in his hat. The fairies gave him a fresh suit of clothes and as soon as he had changed, they continued their feasting. Lusmore fell into sleep late that night in the halls of the fairy king. The next morning came and Lusmore found himself sitting in the same place where he had first heard the fairy song. He believed the entire thing to have been a dream until he stood up and found his back as straight as the oak and his old clothes folded beside him. He returned to Cappagh and no one there believed their eyes- Lusmore the basket maker was tall and handsome as the ash in the wood. He continued making his baskets, telling the people what had happened. Naturally, as these things tend to go, his name became known for miles into the countryside. One day an old woman appeared at his door. She asked him if she had found Lusmore, and if so, what the secret had been to his hump being removed. You see, her son also had a hump, but Jack Madden, as he was named, was not a good hearted soul like Lusmore; he was lazy and arrogant. His mother left him in the wheelbarrow that she had brought him in at the top of Knockgrafton Hill. Soon enough, Jack heard the fairy song, _"Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday!"_ Jack thought to himself, "Well, if one day got Lusmore a straight back and a set of clothes, let's see what two can get Jack!" The fairy song continued, _"Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday!"_ Jack shouted his add-on, "THURSDAY AND FRIDAY!" With a rush of wings, Jack found himself in the hall surrounded by angry fairies. The king spoke, "Jack Madden, Jack Madden, your words are so bad in, your life we will sadden, **_two_** humps for Jack Madden!" The four fairy warriors groaned and lifted Lusmore's hump from the floor and pressed it on to Jack Madden's back. They deposited him in his wheelbarrow at the top of the hill where Jack's mother found him in the morning. He refused to tell her what had happened so she wheeled him home in silence. The lesson one is to learn from this tale? Respect the fairy people, for they are the mighty Tuatha De Dannan and have powers not of this world."

Anne smiled, "Holli, wonderful job. Everyone else, pull out a sheet of paper- let's see how well you were listening." After a few groans of disapproval, Anne began to question her students,

"One- what was the basket maker's name?

Two- how was he afflicted?

Three- where did he hear the song?

Four- what did he do that the fairy king was so pleased about?

Five- what did the fairy king do in return for the basket maker?

Six- where did the basket maker find himself in the morning?

Seven- why did the woman come to his door?

Eight- what was the name of her son?

Nine- what happened after her son added his shout to the fairy song?

Ten- what was the moral of this story?

Now you may all hand your papers forward. This should have been a fairly easy quiz for all of you- it was only difficult if you did not pay attention to Holli. Your scores will be handed back to you tomorrow, class is dismissed!"

That evening, Jadelyn knocked on Anne and Angel's door to be greeted by little Angelique herself. Jade entered the room carrying a bundle wrapped like a baby. She handed it to Angel, "Happy birthday, Angelique." Angel peeked in the bundle at a tiny orange kitten sleeping soundly, "For me?!" Jade nodded; Angel jumped ecstatically, "Oh thank you Jade! Mum- Jade gave me a kitten! Oh me oh my- what oh what a great surprise!" Jade and Anne laughed with Angel as she danced around the room with joy. A knock came on the door; Angel answered it and surprised Professor Snape by proudly and enthusiastically stating, "Jade gave me a kitten! What do you need?" Anne bustled over to the door, "Angel- go and play with your little friend- she is waking up!" Angel was over by the kitten in a heartbeat and Anne could talk to Professor Snape, "Severus, what do you need? Angel is just a bit excited if you are concerned about the noise- I apologize." He nodded, "That was exactly what I was wondering about," turned on his heels, and left. Anne sighed, someday she would get him to open up completely, but that would take a long time.

Wednesday and Thursday Anne lectured on the Finnian Cycle and the Morrighan tales. Friday was Jade's day to tell the story, "They had conquered the land we now call Ireland, the next great race had entered to rule the glens and vales. They first encountered Badu, youngest of the sister queens. She stunned them with her grace and they asked her if there was one thing that they could do for her. She responded that she would like the land named after her, and so it was- for a while the land was named for Badu. The next sister they encountered was the eldest; fair Danu, her beauty was renowned in all the lands. They asked her too what she would want from them as the new dwellers in the land, and she answered the same, that she would have the land named after her. The land, therefore, was named for the fair Danu for a time. Then they came across the middle sister, who was both graceful and fair, yet her name was out-sung by the praises sung to her sisters. She was very just, and the new people of her land asked her yet the same question, and she asked that the land be named for her. She helped the newcomers to settle in her land and she taught them wisdom long spoken of in her realm. She gave them kindness and in return they made her the High Queen over both the physical realm and the spirit realm, calling her their goddess and lady. To this day it is after her that we call her land Ireland and all her people rejoice in hearing her name, her song, and in seeing her rolling emerald hills.”

Anne thanked Jade and then returned her attention to her students, "You know what to do- get out a sheet of paper and we'll have ourselves a little quiz.

First off- what was the name of the first sister?

Second- what was her hailed trait?

Third- what was the name of the second sister they encountered?

Fourth- what was her hailed trait?

Fifth- what was the name of the third sister they encountered?

Sixth- what was her trait?

Seventh- what did she teach the newcomers?

Eighth- over what did they make her ruler?

Ninth- what is the name of the land according to the last time Jadelyn referenced it by name?

Tenth- of all the stories that you have heard this week, which one has been your favourite?

Hand in your quizzes. Class dismissed!"

On Saturday, Anne and Angel were fencing in the Great Hall when Jadelyn entered the room, "Anne- tomorrow, here- I challenge you to a sabre duel." Anne grinned, "Good luck kid." Jade let her cocky little smile appear, "I should say the same for you."

Sunday, March twenty-third: Jadelyn Adelaide Vanessa Riddle and Annelise Marrion Schetzek were followed to the Great Hall by a train of spectators for the fencing tournament. Jade had her black padded garb while Anne's was white. Each of them saluted their opponent, the officiator (Angelique), and then put on their masks. "Fencers ready?" asked Angelique, the two opponents nodded, Angel smiled, "All right, fence!" The bout had begun. Within ten seconds Anne had scored a touch. Jade took right of way and scored against Anne. They both lunged at the same time and had to reset their positions. Anne advanced, but Jade's speed was exceptional and she attacked to Anne's head. Anne parried and reposted to Jade's left side, Jade blocked that attack and scored on Anne's right side. Anne came back to score against Jade in the next five seconds of the bout. There was merely one point left to be scored, and it was the game point. Anne advanced in to Jade, who retreated but then returned with a point attack. Anne parried the attack and lunged into Jade. Jade successfully dodged the attack to her side and took a ballestra into a retreating Anne. The step gave her the perfect spacing for an attack to the head. Anne parried, reposted to Jade's side, Jade blocked the strike, but Anne did not move quick enough to block Jade's answer to the attack. Jade had scored the final point against Anne and had won the bout. Both women removed their masks and shook hands. The spectators cheered for both contenders and later everyone agreed that they would have to rematch someday to see if Anne could beat Jade.

Anne transitioned the next week from folklore to fairy tales. Monday they talked about the purpose of the stories and their originations. Tuesday they studied Snow White. On Wednesday, Anne taught her students about Cinderella and had the students begin to speculate on what could have happened next. After class, Anne was walking to her lodging when she ran into Eddwords muttering about how Death Eaters were going to take over Hogwarts and what the world was coming to. She shook her head and changed her course to the Great Hall. She darted into the silent Hall and enchanted an MP3 player she had in her pocket to play classical dances. She closed her eyes and began to dance with an imaginary partner through the rows of tables and up to the edge of the Head Table. She drifted up the stairs and danced behind the Head Table where there was more space. With her eyes closed she let her mind drift. She shut out all that Eddwords had ever said to her and let her mind float back to the days when it would have been just she and Angel dancing together in a vacant church in the middle of the week, their laughter echoing through the arched ceilings and vaults. She sighed as a single tear rolled down her cheek- she missed the days of just her and her Angel. Anne did not hear the nearly silent click of the door closing or the soft footfalls that approached the platform.

Severus Snape leaned on Slytherins table and watched Anne in silence- it was odd to watch her without her knowing it- she was usually extremely alert as to who was doing what around her. She seemed to be in another world, _"Perhaps it is better than this one."_ he thought. In a moment, Severus found himself speaking aloud, "Do you want to dance with a real partner?" _"Oh blast it all- I didn't really want to say that..."_ She turned to him in surprise, "Oh! Professor, I'm sorry, I didn't see you come in- um, sure. Here, I can set this music thingy here on the table and turn it way up so we can both hear it." He shook his head, "How about not?" She cocked her head to the side, "No music?" he nodded; she continued, "Oh, O.K.- I can do that..." He came up the stairs and stood in front of her; there was an awkward silence which Anne broke, "So, what are we waiting for?" She tentatively took his hand in hers and placed her other hand on his shoulder. They began to slowly waltz around the platform; Anne spoke, "What brings you here anyway? It's not like you to be anywhere but in the Potion's Lab or in Slytherin house." He sighed, "That blasted Eddwords..." Anne scoffed, "Let me guess, he has been saying things like, 'You would be better of back with You-Know-Who,' and, 'You should give up teaching and take up running," and, 'Death Eaters at Hogwarts- you know the end is coming when...,' and his current favourite, 'They are just trying to corrupt the students into He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's service- the only thing we can do is faithfully study our Defence Against the Dark Arts.'" Severus picked up the speed of the waltz by a bit, "How do you know all that?" She raised and eyebrow, "Seriously, he's been dropping those lines whenever he walks by me- I knew that he would be doing the same to you too." Severus decided to take the conversation in a new direction, "Where is Angelique?" Anne grinned; talking about her daughter always made her feel a bit better, "She is off with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jadelyn. Speaking of Jadelyn, she is quite a character- bright, but quite a character." He shook his head, "Miss Riddle is a handful in my class." Anne tilted her head, letting her loose hair fall over her shoulder, "Really? She isn't in mine- she is brilliant in nearly every subject that seems to have come up so far, but she keeps to herself mostly. The only time I ever saw her interact with another student by choice was once on the way out of the classroom when she shoved Draco into the doorframe and sarcastically apologized- then again, he had called her a Mudblood at the beginning of class- he really should have seen it coming, after all, when Jadelyn promises she will make someone eat their words or she will make someone pay, she is very faithful to that promise." Severus hmpf'ed, "I have noticed her abrasive tendencies- that she was genetically doomed to inherit. She reminds me of Vanessa." Anne was curious, "How so?" He continued, "The mannerisms she has, the way she speaks with that low, even voice that seems to be able to switch from a challenge to a friendship in an instant, her build, her face, she just looks like Vanessa- except for her hair- 'Nessa's hair was the same colour as yours; hers was a curly mess most of the time." Anne smiled, "It sounds like your sister was a wonderful woman- I would have liked to meet her. What did you mean when you said that Jadelyn was genetically doomed to inherit her attitude? Do you know her family? She won't talk about them." He glanced heavenward, "I know her family far to well- her father- you know about him, correct?" Anne nodded; he resumed his tale, "Well, her mother is... my younger sister Adelaide. To paint you a picture of Adelaide, take Jadelyn's frame, attach a face that is all too often painted, bleached and wave-permed hair, clothing that would put most streetwalkers to shame, and an attitude that says she would rather be out partying than having anything to do with magic, and you have Adelaide. Only Jadelyn's grandfather knows how Jadelyn turned as well as she did, rather than ending up a Death Eater in a miniskirt." Anne let that sink in, "Wow- I didn't realize that you had a younger sister, or that your father had raised Jadelyn. What a life she has had...so neither of her parents really ever was around, just your father?” Severus nodded, "From what I gather, that is true- she doesn't really acknowledge me as family though- I can only guess what Adelaide has told her- my little sister never did care too much for me." Anne felt a curiosity rising in her, "I wonder if Jade has ever met her father..." Severus was quick to answer, "When Nigel, my father, first wrote to Albus about Jadelyn beginning her schooling here, he added in that Jadelyn had only met her father just this past summer and that she had felt little connection to him, treating him rather coldly instead. I also gather that the meeting was Adelaide’s idea. Jadelyn did tell me one thing; that she was glad that her father had been without form for the last fifteen years so she did not have to see his face around the house, and, as a part of that, she never wanted to talk to her father again." Anne sighed, "And I thought having him as an employer was hard- think about the cloud that will follow her wherever she goes- she is the daughter of Voldemort. That must play quite a role in her life, even if she doesn't acknowledge the fact. I still am mystified that she took to Angelique so readily- she doesn't seem to be the type who would be fond of children." Severus nearly smiled, "Speaking frankly, I don‘t seem to be the type either, but Angelique is different- she is still a child in her form, yet she is wise far beyond her years- wiser than some adults ever become in their entire lifetime." They stopped dancing- Severus led Anne to sit on the edge of the Head Table and he settled beside her. Anne gazed at a floating candle near her, "I guess then she and Angel are really quite similar- both of them are orphans taken in by those who saw their fall and wanted to raise them up. They reacted differently to it, but I think that Jade looks to Angel to reclaim a childhood that she feels was lost, and Angel looks to Jade to give her wisdom voice- not many people look to a child and realize that she is gifted if she is still young. It is a remarkable friendship between two seemingly opposites who are really the same at heart." There was a silence between them. Anne thought, " _I wonder if he realizes that I just described us..."_ while at the same time Severus was thinking, _"I wonder if she realizes that she just described our relationship..."_ Without knowing what the other was thinking, Anne and Severus' gazes met for a moment, before Anne turned away and blushed slightly- she didn't want him to know what she was thinking, _"What am I doing? I just thought that I saw him staring at me- that can't be...I know this seems nearly surreal- I have a confident here who I can call friend, and I think that I catch him staring at me...I have got to stop reading into things- he was just glancing over at me, just as I was doing- God knows I hope he doesn't think I was staring at him..."_ Ironically enough, Severus was thinking nearly the same thing, _"Oh dear- I hope that she doesn't think that I was staring, though I wonder if that is what she was doing...heaven knows she_ **is** _lovely- banish those thoughts from your head, Severus, you have no need to think such things..."_ He cleared his throat, "Well, are you settled about the Eddwords situation now?" Her face glowed with a serenity that he had not seen from anyone but her, "Yes, thank you, I think I am- thank you for the dance, the listening, and for giving voice your thoughts." He smiled softly; Anne was overjoyed in her spirit- he had never smiled like that around her. He thought before he replied, _"Not all my thoughts Miss Anne, not all..."_ Aloud he said, "I am glad to have been of help. I have to get down to my classroom- there are tests to be graded that I know will not grade themselves. Good day, Anne." Anne rose as he did and stepped close to him. She slowly placed her arms around him and gave him a gentle hug. She pulled away, slightly embarrassed, "Sorry- I- um...yeah, have a nice day, Severus." He turned and left the room as silently as he had entered. Anne tossed her MP3 player back in her pocket, _"I hope that he doesn't take that in the wrong way..."_ and she followed his lead- she too had things to do for her class.

Twenty-four hours later, Anne was sitting in her chambers with her daughter and was painting Angel's portrait when she heard a muffled shout from next door, "You will stop this preposterous prank this instant, Miss Riddle, or you will be spending the rest of your life in detention!" Anne sighed, set her palette and brush down on the table and turned to Angel, "Don't move- I'm not done with the painting, but I have to go find out what on this Earth is going on next door." Angel nodded as Anne slipped out her door. She found Jade leaning up against the Potion's Lab door grinning, "Jadelyn, what is going on here?" "Oh, nothing, I'm just doing my Uncle Robert a favour." Severus' voice on the other side of the door fell silent; Anne pointed to Jadelyn, " ** _That_** is playing dirty- you do **_not_** bring up a piece of the past simply as torment. I know one sort of person who would do such a thing- your father and his minions, and I know that you do not want to become one of them- now tell me what is going on here." Jadelyn shot a glare at the door, "I charmed the door- it does not wish to open. I will be leaving now." Jade turned to go and Anne called after her, "Until this is sorted out and resolved, you will not be with Angelique, do you understand?" Jade stopped and pointed her wand at the door, "Angel is of more value to me than an old feud. Let it be done. I will apologize in a letter composed this afternoon and delivered this evening in Slytherin house. That is all." She muttered a counter to her charm and disappeared up the stairs. Anne pulled open the door to find Professor Snape standing directly on the other side, "Oh! Are you all right, sir? Did you hear what Jade just stated?" He nodded, "I will still expect her to serve a detention with me tomorrow- in the morning if possible, to arrange the demonstrations for the day and clean my cauldron." Anne sighed, "Thank goodness that an even uglier situation was avoided...I would have hated to have had to suspend Jade and Angel's time together- both of them treasure it so dearly," she leaned on the doorframe, "Can I come in?" Severus nodded; Anne smiled, "Thank you," once in the room with the door shut behind her, Anne continued, "That was a bloody low trick for Jade to pull that up- using the memory of the dead as an excuse for irrational and irresponsible actions is now way for a lady to behave!" her voice softened and she stood in front of him- he had not moved since she had entered the room, "Severus, are **_you_** all right?" He started out of the daze he had fallen into, "I'm sorry, Anne, what was that you said?" She repeated her inquiry with the same amount of concern in her tone, "I asked if **_you_** were all right, considering what Jade just threw into your face." He nodded, "Yes Anne, I am fine. If you will leave me now, I have work to be attending to."

Jade went up to Slytherin House and began to compose her letter. That evening, good to her word, Jade delivered it to her uncle. As Jade left, Snape opened the letter. It read:

_"Uncle Severus~_

_I apologize for my bringing up the death of Robert in such an insensitive manner. I was told by both my mother and by your father Nigel what happened, however I deem that the story is either incorrect or factually misconstrued, especially the version told by Adelaide. I would much appreciate it if you could find the time to meet with me so that I could get the truth of the situation in my mind as fact, rather than the tainted ones which I have been previously exposed to. Once again I apologize for my actions in the dungeons. Any punishment you deem fair will be gladly taken by me._

_Sincerely_

_~Jadelyn Adelaide Vanessa Riddle"_

Severus sighed, she wanted to hear his story; he did not wish to reveal it to another person at the school. He wondered if Anne was still awake. Glancing at the clock on the mantle, he decided that since it was merely ten o'clock at night, that Anne would most likely still be busy. Severus rose and left the Common Room, if anyone could advise him on this situation, Annelise Marrion Schetzek would be the one who could.

As Anne was attempting to get Angel detached from **_Macbeth_** , there came a knock on her chamber door, "Angel, you have only as long as the guest is here to read- then it is off to bed with you," she called to the person at the door, "Come in, it is unlocked!" Severus entered the room and nodded to each Anne and Angel, "Anne, I received the letter from Jadelyn this evening and I have the detention in mind, there is another part of the letter which I have come to seek your advice on. It is Jadelyn's request." Anne took the piece of paper he was offering her and read the section he was indicating:

_"I was told by both my mother and by your father Nigel what happened, however I deem that the story is either incorrect or factually misconstrued, especially the version told by Adelaide. I would much appreciate it if you could find the time to meet with me so that I could get the truth of the situation in my mind as fact, rather than the tainted ones which I have been previously exposed to."_

Anne sighed and smiled softly, "Well, I would say that the best advice I can give to you is that you arrange a time to correct the factual errors which exist in her mind. I would suggest that you meet as soon as possible so as to clear up these confusions quickly. I will offer my room here or my classroom up for you to meet in if it is more convenient to you." Severus nodded and took the letter from Anne, "Thank you- I will be deciding on this momentarily." He turned on his heels and left. Angel sighed, "Well Mum, I think you and he have hit off fabulously. I am done with **_Macbeth_**. I will be going to bed now. Good night!"

The next evening, after Jade had served her detention, she, Angel, Henry, Hermione, and Ron, all gallivanted around the castle together. In doing so, Angel heard a disgruntled voice muttering ahead of them, "Hush you guys, it's Eddwords!" The four following behind her fell silent. They listened in on him, "Blasted Mudblood, causing far too many problems in my work- I will have to find a way to get her out of the way..." Jade crept silently up behind him, "Boo." Eddwords jumped nearly sky high and toppled down the stairs behind him. Ron, Harry, and Hermione stood at the landing at the top and starred down at his unconscious form. Jade swore a blue streak and Angel schemed, "Hey, Jade, Hermione, guys, I know what we can do!" Jade stopped her tongue and grinned mischievously at Angel, "Are you thinking what I am thinking?" Angel looked at Jade innocently, "Only if you are thinking about are little fun that we had on February twenty-seventh." Jade's eyes glimmered, "Do you think that Moaning Myrtle could use a little company?" Hermione figured out what her friends were conspiring about, "That was **_YOU_**?" Harry and Ron were still in the dark; Harry inquired, "What is going on? What did they do?" Hermione looked at the boys, her face asking where they had been the past month, "Anne and Eddwords obviously can't stand one another, Eddwords shows up in a bathroom during February, these two reference it- is it clear what I am saying yet?" Ron's eyes grew wide, "Anne tossed him in there? No way!" Angel tugged on his robes, "Yeah way- now help us get him out of the way before he wakes up. And it wasn't just Mum- Jade and I were more responsible than her." Harry took a deep breath, "What do we need to do?" Angel thought for a moment, "Find a way to carry him to the bathroom without being seen. Then Hermione and Jade will need to carry him, I will be the lookout, and you two can help me keep cover and open doors, got it?" Harry and Ron nodded and Harry pulled a shimmering object from a bag Hermione had been carrying, "Here, Dad's cloak should work well to conceal him- let's get moving."

On Saturday, Anne found a little note tacked to her door,

_"If you cannot control Miss Riddle, I will have her expelled. ~Eddwords"_

Anne grinned as she read it; they must have done something to him last night while they were out wandering. She handed the note to Angel, "Hey, what did you guys do last night?" Angel read the note and laughed, "I wonder if Myrtle appreciated the company..." Anne looked puzzled, "Who is Myrtle?" Angel quickly replied, "Ghost in one of the girl's bathrooms." Anne smirked, "You tossed him in the bathroom again, didn't you?" Angel attempted to hide her amusement by looking innocent, but it didn't work to well, "Mum, Jade had scared him and he had fallen down the stairs, he was unconscious, and I thought to myself, 'Now what would my Mum do?' Jade must have been thinking the same thing because we both referenced the February deal. After Hermione figured it out and got the boys to see the light, we got to work and did not even have a run in with Filch's cat." Anne smiled, "Good work, now we have to be careful how we tread with this- it cannot happen more than once a month and we have to keep out untrustworthy parties. Now you go and run along, we have nothing practical to do all weekend, so go have fun- and avoid Eddwords, he is bound to be sour after last night's trek to the bathroom."

Hours later Anne found herself in Myrtle's bathroom, "Hello? Is anyone here? I heard that my daughter dragged someone in here on Friday." A little whimper came from behind a stall door, "Yes, an awful man was in here, he was very rude to me." Anne knocked on the door she thought the voice issued from behind, but there was no answer. She turned around and found herself face to face with the ghost of a female student, "Oh! You must be Myrtle!" The girl smiled, "Someone has been talking about me?" her face turned suspicious, "Has someone been saying bad things about me now that I'm dead?" Anne sighed and gently grinned, "No, not at all, Harry, Ron, and Hermione have said nothing but friendly things about you. My daughter dragged the rude man, Professor Eddwords, in here last night- she, Jadelyn Riddle, and Harry's gang are making his life miserable because he seems to be trying very hard to do the same for me." Myrtle scowled, "Riddle...is she related to Tom?" Anne sighed, "Unfortunately she is his daughter- but don't worry, she doesn't like him any more than the rest of us do." Myrtle was satisfied and the conversation ended soon after.

Tuesday was April Fool's day, and Angel had schemed the entire weekend with Jade. In Potions class, Jade began a lengthy debate with her uncle about the medicinal properties of newts while Harry got Crabbe and Goyle on the defensive; Draco followed suit. While all possible observing parties were distracted, Ron and Hermione slipped a tiny black sphere in with Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy's newt eyes destined to enter their cauldrons. Jade ended her discussion and found each of Harry, Ron, and Hermione taking on one of their Slytherin counterparts. Jade walked over to them, "Break it up- you can try to kill each other outside of class, but not here." Everyone drifted back to their seats and continued with their tasks. Unexpectedly, Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy's cauldrons began to bubble and smoke. They backed away and within ten seconds a bright white column of flame exploded upward from the cauldron, splattering liquid on the ceiling which proceeded to rain down on the unlucky Slytherin's heads. The room was silent for a moment, until Jade began to snicker, "This is rich- the perfect Slytherin trio and their perfect little cauldrons are spattered with whatever that was...I love it!" Harry began to laugh, along with Angel who had just entered the room. Snape shot a shrewd glare at Jade and approached Draco, "I suggest that you begin to clean up this mess before it hardens onto the ceiling, Mr. Malfoy." Draco winced as a drop of the goop landed on his head, "That's servant's work." Snape raised an eyebrow inquisitively, "Is it now? I guess that means that since you do not know how to clean on your own you will need some help; Goyle, Crabbe- get to work alongside Malfoy."

After all their classes had finished, the pranksters met in Anne's chambers. Jade flopped into a chair, "Did you see the look on Draco's face when Snape told him to get working? That was priceless!" Angel added to Jade's recollection of the day with a gleam in her eyes, "Now wait a second, the look that Crabbe and Goyle shared when they were told to help, now that was something that I wish I had a camera for..." Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting on the edge of the table; each of the conspirators high-fived the others of the group and agreed. Jade pulled a tiny object from her skirt, "A camera you say? I have this little one right here...it is a Muggle spy cam, so there is no flash and it is noiseless; bet you didn't notice it click three times..." Everyone cheered; their celebration was cut short by a knock on the door. Jade hid the camera in her skirt and Angel answered the door. Anne entered, "What are you five doing in here looking guilty as the Cheshire cat?" Jade nodded to Angel, "We can let her in on our little secret, she will understand." Angel nodded, "Let's tell the story from the beginning, each of us telling about our part as it happened. Me, I helped plan it all. There, that was my part- Jade, your turn!" Jade grinned and told her part of the tale and then the others added in their parts. At the end, Anne was laughing so hard she had to sink into a chair. Through her laughter she managed to say, "Jade...got...pictures?!" Jade grinned and showed Anne the little camera, "The only problem is that it is a Muggle camera and I don't know how to develop the film. Anne's laughter toned down and she winked at Jade, "No problem- you just need silver nitrate and a few other chemicals which I am proud to say I own. Once you use up the roll of film, just let me know and we can create a darkroom for you and develop them." Suddenly Anne's door opened and Snape entered the room; he approached Jadelyn, "Miss Riddle, do you know how Malfoy's cauldron exploded today and who was involved?" She leaned back against the wall and folded her arms across her chest, "Yes." His countenance asked her to reveal more information, but she did not yield. He nodded, "At least tell me what was used- I know that you were somehow involved." She shook her head, "Sorry, that is classified, but I can tell you these two things- it reacted with the newt eyes in the potion and the secret was passed down in the family of the instigator." He tilted his head, "I see...Nigel's 'Exploding Infernal Eye'- that trick was, and still is, apparently, one of his favourites." Snape turned on his heels and left. He stopped at the door, "Feel lucky, Miss Riddle, that it is a family secret that you used- I know how to dissolve the paste on my ceiling. You will serve detention with me tomorrow morning before classes to brew the solvent and to help Draco and his little friends to apply it to the ceiling." He disappeared into the lab. Jade sighed, "I've been here for nearly two months and I have served how many detentions...?"

On Wednesday night, Dumbledore announced that they would have another new student joining them, this one, Zack Pitman, would be joining them from Durmstrang, "Mr. Pitman is a fifth year and has been sorted into Ravenclaw, and I would like you all to give him a warm welcome in classes tomorrow." 

Thursday, April third; the first day of classes for Zack. Hermione noticed him first in Potions where they were brewing things without newt's eyes in the contents. Snape stopped them in their work and addressed the class, "After Tuesday's unfortunate incident, I am asking that you describe to me which substances are most reactive with eye of newt." Hermione raised her hand, "Yes, Miss Granger?" "Powdered root of the aspen tree infused with a tincture of cat's claws and the hair of a dog." Zack shook his head and raised his hand, "Yes, Mr. Pitman, you have something to add?" "It doesn't need the cat in the potion, just the hair of a black dog, aspen root, and a little bit of spit to hold it all together." Snape nodded, "That is correct, Mr. Pitman. Back to work." Hermione glared at the new student. No one outdid Hermione Granger in Potions class, at least not until now.

Zack entered Defence Against the Dark Arts with high hopes; a girl in his Potions class told him that Miss Granger never got a question wrong and he had just corrected her. Upon entering Defence Against the Dark Arts, Zack stopped short; he swore that he knew the teacher from somewhere...but where? He sat down and waited for class to start. The instructor approached him, "Mr. Pitman, I believe we have met before, haven't we? I am Eddwords. You know me." Zack nodded, "Yeah, you were the reason I left Durmstrang- He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named followed you there and discovered that I knew what he was doing in the area- he knew that I knew which students in the school were following him. You left first because you were helping his enemies by punishing these students and he knew it. I left later because I didn't want him to hurt my family." Eddwords hissed, "Yesss- little brat that you were- you gave me names and then stopped when you were in trouble." Other students began to enter the room, "Pitman, we'll settle this tomorrow, here, before lunch."

That Saturday, Anne walked to Eddwords' classroom after lunch. She knocked on the door and called, "Eddwords? Eddwords? I wanted to return the book that Jade swiped on Friday- are you there?" She heard a moan and opened the door. There on the floor was Zack, sprawled out against a wall. Anne dashed over and helped him sit up, "What happened? Wait, don't talk yet- tell Albus in a few moments." She helped Zack to stand and escorted him to the hospital wing. Poppy met her at the door and as soon as Zack was settled in, Anne ran to find Albus- things were getting weirder by the moment with the Eddwords situation and Anne needed Albus to see this.

Sunday Zack was allowed to have visitors. Anne brought him cookies she had baked that morning and stayed there with him. Zack told her stories of his life and why he and Eddwords were enemies, and Anne told Zack her story as she had told it to the rest of her student many weeks before. She told Zack how Eddwords had treated her and they both agreed that Eddwords would be more trouble by the end of the year. After lunch, Angel brought Jade and Ginny Weasley to see Zack. Everyone was properly introduced and had a wonderful time.

On Monday, Anne began to teach her students Arthurian legend. Anne brought in books and told her students that they would be talking about the various components of the legend that week.

Tuesday they talked about knights and chivalry, but Angel, who usually loved to sit in on her mother's lessons, was no where to be found.

Zack sat up in the hospital wing still, waiting for his little friend to return with news. Angel bounced in, "Sure enough, she thinks you are very cute. I told her that you said the same and she just about flipped. I think you have a good chance with her." Zack smiled, "Ginny...she is such a sweet little lady- what class did you say she is in right now?" Angel pulled out a list from her pocket, "She's in my Mum's class- no I can't pull her from it- they are studying knights and stuff today- Mum is demonstrating heavy weapons combat with Jade. It should be an interesting class. I have to run an errand for Professor Snape now, so give me a minute to do that and then I will go and get Ginny after her class and bring her up here- good deal?" Zack nodded, "Great deal- see you then."

Angel scampered down to the dungeons with a note and tacked it on her mother's door. Then she ran to meet Ginny as she was leaving Anne's classroom, "Ginny- come on, Zack wants to meet with you up in the hospital wing." She practically dragged Ginny along the halls and to Zack. Then Angel left to go see what Snape had thought of the note she had left. She found her mother and Snape standing in the hall outside of Anne's chamber. Angel ducked behind a gargoyle and listened to their conversation. Snape's voice reached her ear first, "Anne, Eddwords injured a student this weekend, he will be fine, but there is no telling if we will get this lucky next time. Neither of us can approach him about it without fear of being attacked ourselves- we have to find someone to help us." He sighed, "Who can we trust, Anne? The only person I can see being of any help is Albus and he has already taken this into his hands and dealt with the situation of Pitman and Eddwords." Anne leaned on the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, "We just have to be very on our guard, especially when we know that he will be around us." Severus joined her on the wall, "I have asked Albus that Pitman be taken out of Eddwords' class and that I personally tutor him in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Albus did not want to approve it, but seeing that he had no choice, he let me take on the task. I will be starting once Pitman is out of the hospital wing." Anne nodded and smiled, "That will be a nice change of pace for you." "It may be," he sighed, "but it may also bring to light a few memories that I do not wish to remember of my time in the Dark Arts." Anne stepped away from the wall and placed her hand gently on his shoulder, "If that happens, remember that friends are made to help each other- you can always stop in if you need or want to." He nodded and turned to enter his classroom, and Anne turned to her door, "Severus, do you know anything about this?" He had already closed the door though, and Anne was left alone to open the little note,

" _Meet me in the Astronomy tower after dinner; I have something that may be of interest to you. ~Severus_ "

Anne smiled- he did know about the note. She closed the door to her room and flopped down on the cot. Moments later, Angel slipped in the room and began to work on Anne's lecture for the next day. It was about Morrighan and Morgan LeFay, Angel's ancestry, and Anne had asked that Angel give her a personal reference on the subject.

Anne travelled to the Astronomy tower and met Severus there. He handed her a worn looking package which she opened in the moonlight. Inside the parchment was an old copy of "Le Morte de Arthur" written in French. She opened the cover and read an inscription inside,

_"Anne-_

_This has been in my belongings since I first came to Hogwarts and I have never found much use for it. The story is interesting, but I would rather read the English text. If you can use this, it is yours."_

Anne smiled and turned to thank him, but he had disappeared while she had been reading his note. 

Anne wrapped up the week with a viewing of "Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail" and then took the film up to the hospital wing so that Ginny could show it to Zack. On Saturday Zack was released from the hospital wing and they spent the whole day outside by the banks of the lake.

Monday, April 14th in Anne's class began baseball season. She introduced them to the sport by first training them how to umpire a game by watching clips from the 1984 World Series. Tuesday she taught them how to use each piece of equipment that was used in the game, Wednesday she taught them how to pitch a baseball and on Thursday they all practiced pitching to one another. Friday was the true test of bravery; she taught the kids how to hit the ball. Overall, Anne's class only broke one window, and it happened to be Eddwords'. 

On Saturday Anne shut herself in her room to avoid Eddwords. She pulled her ebony box from her sea chest and gently set it on the table. She pulled out a vial and swirled it carefully, watching as it changed glowing colours in her hand. She filed it and removed another vial, this one containing a black sludge. She quickly replaced it and lifted a two inch square box from the ebony case. She lifted the lid and stared at the rows of tiny hair clippings. _"At one time these would have been very useful- I could have looked like anyone in this box- even the Queen herself...or another Death Eater..."_ Anne was still staring at the hairs when a knock came on her door, "Who is it?" She immediately recognized the voice which carried the answer, "Severus- may I enter?" She placed the lid back on the hair-box and set it on the table, "I guess." He pushed open the door, "You guess?" "Yeah, I guess- this really isn't the best time to talk, but that is irrelevant to me." He walked beside her and peered into the ebony box. He removed the vial of black sludge from among the other eight vials in the case, "The eight most essential potions for any Death Eater and the components any Potions Master needs to create anything of use on a mission. I remember that...Anne, why do you have this stuff? Especially these vials, if the Ministry were to catch you with it-" She cut him off, "They would have my hide- I know. That vial you hold- do you know what is in it?" He shook his head, “It is not one of the eight- you added it to your case." She nodded, "It is what killed Angel's parents. I can't throw it away because I do not know who could end up with it. Anyhow, if I threw away this stuff, then I would be leaving tracks that Voldemort and his friends could too easily follow. I prefer to keep it as an eternal reminder of what I have come from, what I must fight, what I lost, and what I will never succumb to again." Severus nodded, "What is this anyway?" He began to uncork the vial when Anne caught his hand, "Don't- the fumes are deadly, especially after all this time when they have been concentrating in there for so long- we lost one of our own when creating it and when using it." He carefully made sure that the seal was not broken and replaced it in the ebony box, "You are a brave woman to keep these things. You should have left them with the one whom gave them to you." She shook her head, "I am the only one who has any of the black stuff- I would not let it out of my sight when I was making it and then using it- in the bottom of this box are the papers I wrote to describe how to concoct this poison, and the failures of those before me- here, you can read them if you wish. Voldemort did not get to keep what he called his 'black gold', rather I did." Severus read Anne’s notes in silence and replaced them in the box, "It is a brilliant combination of toxins that you used. Do you still recall, without looking at your notes, how you came to discover this?" Anne nodded and placed the hair-box back into the ebony case. She then made sure that all which was to be stored in the ebony box had indeed made its way into it and she locked the lid. She rose and placed it in her sea chest, tucking it to the bottom wrapped in a black shroud. She turned to Severus, "What did you wish to see me about? Surely it was not that you knew about the ebony box, so you must have had another motive."

Severus sat in a chair next to hers and leaned on the table, "I was wondering if the text was any use to you." She beamed, "Angel has been reading to me in French from the text every night since you gave it to me- I love hearing it- I could read it myself, but Angel has the perfect accent because of her father and her voice is musical with the language. I love it- thank you." He nodded and Anne tilted her head to the side, "Would you like a cup of tea? The kettle has been on all morning and I have not made a cup yet." He nodded and she brought him tea in a minute, in a chipped coffee mug stamped with Big Ben. She sat down after serving, her own cup bearing the logo of Michigan State University, "How are your lessons with Zack going- are they working out all right?" He nodded. They sat and sipped their tea in the stillness of the dungeon. Anne smiled, it was nice not to feel like she had to hold a conversation to be a good hostess; Severus was content in silence.

The next day was Easter Sunday. Anne woke up at four in the morning to hide eggs coloured with the different house colours. At five o'clock, Jade woke up and tampered with Anne's carefully laid plans. At seven, students filed out of the school in the early morning light and began the hunt. Each house had twenty eggs hidden on the grounds and an hour to find them all. At eight o'clock Anne called all the students to the steps and totalled the eggs found, "Hufflepuff, seventeen; Ravenclaw, eighteen; Gryffindor, twenty...and Slytherin somehow has twenty-four..." Anne glanced over to Jade and then back at the baskets for each house, "Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, if you would like to continue to search for your eggs, feel free- Gryffindor, you may offer your assistance, meanwhile I have to figure out-" Slytherin's egg basket exploded in a flash of green light and an excess of green smoke, spattering the Slytherins with egg yolk, "Never mind, the extra eggs have been accounted for."

After the egg hunt, there was a large breakfast in the Great Hall of pancakes and eggs and every sort of breakfast novelty that one could imagine. Angel was working in the kitchen with the house elves the entire time, making sure that there was enough of each kind of pancake. As breakfast began to wrap up, Anne popped in, "Angel, be sure to come down to the room as soon as you are done so we can read the Easter Story together!" Angel nodded enthusiastically and hurried up her work- she did not want to miss their yearly ten o'clock tradition.

Promptly at ten, Anne pulled out an old book from her sea chest and set it on the table. The book had no title and no author credited on the cover. Angel opened to one of the two thousand hand written pages and flipped halfway through the book until she found the one titled, **_"Easter according to the Gospels of Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, and Saint Luke compiled on December fourteenth, eighteen seventy three by Claudius Matthews III."_** Anne sat at the table and Angel climbed on her lap, "Well Mums, you know that it really is Easter when we get out the Big Book and read what your old relation copied! Hopefully when we read it again this year, Jesus'll still rise from the dead in the end!" Anne laughed, "Child, you know He always does- hasn't missed a year yet!" Angel grinned, "I know, I was testing you." Anne began to read aloud,

" _As we have seen, on Holy Thursday, Jesus and His disciples shared a meal now known to us as the Last Supper. This recollection takes us from that evening through Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and to Easter Sunday._ " 

She paused a moment as a knock came at the door. Anne called from her seat, "Come in...the door is unlocked and I am serving as a chair for a nine year old with a cat on her lap." The door creaked open and Professor Snape stepped in. He looked unsettled, "You left breakfast early, Anne." He regarded her suspiciously; she thought that he must have believed her partial to the attacker who had 'egged' the Slytherins that morning. She smiled, "Yes, I did leave early, is there something wrong with that?" He shook his head and turned to leave when Angel called to him, "Wait a minute..." she set the cat on the table and slid off her mother's lap, "You want to sit with us and hear Mum read? She's tellin' me an' Kathleen the cat the Easter Story like one of her ancestors wrote it in this real old book. You should hear it; this guy who copied this stuff was amazing." He sighed, the child certainly was eager to have him stay, and for some reason, he felt compelled to fulfil her request. He sat down at the opposite end of the long table. Angel plopped her hands on her hips and sighed, "Really, that will never do, you have to come and sit with us." She tugged at his sleeve and waited. Anne smiled, "Angel dear, you know what I told you- let people do what they will unless it is harmful. If Professor Snape does not want to sit here, then he may sit there- it is no trouble to anyone at all." Anne smiled softly at Angelique, "Sit, my love, and I will continue in the tale."

Anne set up for her class early Monday morning. She left a note on her classroom door that her class was to meet outside for the entire next week. Before her students arrived, she assigned every one of her students a number and placed all the numbers (except those of her two umpires) in a hat. Then she waited for her class to begin.

"All right everyone, simmer down, we have a lot of work to do today. Ginny and Susan's requests to be Umpires reached me first, so they will not be playing with us this week. The rest of you will be divided into three teams of nine which will compete the rest of this week and we will have a Hogwarts World Series for the top teams. Hopefully we will not have a tie at the end of the week and this can be played on Friday- if there is a problem, we will bump the Series to Saturday. Your teams are as follows:

| 

Team one

| 

Team two

| 

Team three  
  
---|---|---|---  
  
First base

| 

Owen Cauldwell

| 

Stewart Ackerly

| 

Elenore Branstone  
  
Second base

| 

Ron Weasly

| 

Hermione Granger

| 

Harry Potter  
  
Third base

| 

Adrian Pucey

| 

Hannah Abbott

| 

George Weasly  
  
Shortstop

| 

Alicia Spinnet

| 

Ernie MacMillan

| 

Fred Weasly  
  
Catcher

| 

Cho Chang

| 

Goyle

| 

Draco Malfoy  
  
Right field

| 

Lavender Brown

| 

Blaise Zabini

| 

Neville Longbottom  
  
Left field

| 

Crabbe

| 

Lee Jordan

| 

Millicent Bulstrode  
  
Pitcher

| 

Jadelyn Riddle

| 

Holli MacCumhail

| 

Dean Thomas  
  
Centre field

| 

Pansy Parkinson

| 

Colin Crevey

| 

Mandy Brocklehurst  
  
Anne smiled, "There you have it, your three teams for the Hogwarts Baseball League Spring Weeklong season. Today will be spent training with your team." As Anne expected, the day went well. She had no idea who would win each game, skills wise, the teams were evenly divided. By the end of the week the standings were as follows:  


| 

Win

| 

Lose  
  
---|---|---  
  
Game one <Tuesday>

| 

One

| 

Two  
  
Game two <Wednesday>

| 

Three

| 

Two  
  
Game three <Thursday>

| 

One

| 

Three  
  
On Thursday, Anne announced to the student body that for those of them who had not already come out and watched the baseball games, there would be a Hogwarts World Series on Friday and the entire school was invited out to watch them play. She described that the teams which would be in the series playing each other would be teams one and three. She listed off which students were on each team and where their games of baseball were set up. 

On Friday the bleachers Anne had moved to her make-shift baseball diamond were filled and overflowing with cheering students ready to see their friends play this Muggle sport which Anne so strictly regulated to be sure that there would be no magical cheating. The first and second innings got the game off to a good start with at score of four to six with team three in the lead. The third inning proved to be more tame with an easy three outs for team one and another easy three outs for team three. Before Anne really could tell that much time had passed the score was team one with ten and team three with eleven at the seventh inning stretch. Inning eight passed quickly and by the bottom of the ninth team one was leading by eight runs over team three, which had thirteen runs. Team three was up to bat, the bases were loaded, and there was one out left in the inning. Draco was up to bat. Anne was commentating, "Malfoy's up to bat, the count is three to zero. He swings, and it's a miss, strike one. He readies himself at the plate, and with a swing, this one's good to send him to second. Weasley makes it from third to home and Weasley makes it from second to third. One run scored and Longbottom takes to the plate. He swings and fouls along the first base side. The count is zero and one. He swings and this one is good for a single, no runs scored that time folks. Bulstrode up to bat. She swings and it is foul. This one looks like a good pitch, she swings and strike one- the count is one and one. This one's flies fair, and is caught in the outfield, ladies and gents that was game. Team one has one the first Hogwarts World Series with an incredible score of fourteen to twenty-one. That is absolutely amazing folks; this is Anne Schetzek with Hogwarts broadcasting signing off on this wonderful afternoon of baseball."

Saturday, April twenty-sixth was officially named a sleep day for anyone who had played in the games. Sunday, once everyone had regained their slumber, was a day of celebration for all of Anne's students. They partied in the Great Hall all day, dancing and hanging out, after all, it isn't every day that one gets to play baseball for a week and have it count as class time.

May first came, but was not an ordinary day for Anne and Angel. They strung a maypole and set it up for all the students to see and, rather than having a lecture of the culture of a country (Anne's current topic), the students held a Beltane celebration and wove the maypole. Anne explained to them that Beltane was an ancient Celtic holiday celebrating the coming of Summer and the return of the long days of light. Angelique taught the students about her own celebrations she had attended as a child in both Brittany and Éire. After a traditional Celtic feast that evening, Anne and Angel went out to the lake bank to enjoy one of the first warm days since they had settled in. They were staring at the sunset when Angel broke the silence, "Mum?" "Yeah babe?" Anne turned to Angel, "Mum, I want to make a bet with you." Anne rolled her eyes, "What?" Angel's face was unusually calm and serious, "I predict that within a year, you and Professor Snape will have a bit more than friendship in your favour." Anne sighed, "What do you mean by that?" Angel looked at her mother with her eyes asking if Anne was serious, "He's gonna pull you out of your little 'I'm never gonna fall in love again' phase." Anne glared at Angel, "Look, I never said that..." "You don't have to- I can read it in you easy," Angel retorted. Anne sighed, "You know that I shelter myself for good reason. I don't want a repeat of what happened last time." Angel began to play with a blade of grass, "That was a few years ago; you were nineteen." "And it still haunts me," Anne shot back. Angel shook her head, "I would still bet money that he is going to be the one to change your mind. You are going to fall in love again and it will be with Professor Snape- no matter what you think now." Anne knew it was useless to try to convince Angel otherwise, "Fine, we'll bet a Gallion on it, got that?" Angel grinned, "You're on." "One year." "Right, then I, Angelique Marie LeFay, collect my winnings and declare victory over you, Annelise Marrion Schetzek." Anne shook her head, "Whatever you think- most likely I will get to raid your stash and I will be the richer." Angel hmpf'ed, "Yeah, not likely, but if for some odd reason I'm wrong...Deal?" Anne grinned, "Deal." They shook hands and Anne paused, "I should know better than to try and talk you out of a bet, shouldn't I?" Angel gave her mother a sly grin, "Yup."

Friday came and went peacefully for those who were not privy to the scene that played out in Gryffindor house. Ginny flopped down on the couch next to Ron. Rather than greet her, he glared and snapped, "Why aren't you with your precious Zack- you haven't spent a day without running off to Ravenclaw house yet." Ginny shot the glare back, "Is there something wrong with me spending time with friends like you do?" Ron rolled his eyes, "You don't even sit with us at lunch anymore." Ginny scoffed, "Jade doesn't sit with her house either. She sits at Hufflepuff or Gryffindor more often than not. What's so wrong with that?" Ron began to yell, "What's so wrong?! Nothing at all, except that you never sit with your family anymore, you never talk to us; you don't even study with us! It's like the sorting hat made a mistake and put you in the wrong house! If you don't want to see us, then get out of here and go back to your precious Ravenclaw! **_GO!_** " Ginny stood up fighting off tears, " ** _FINE!_** I will go! You couldn't make me stay if you wanted to!" She stomped off out of the room. Harry turned to Hermione, "We may have a mess to clean up from this- who knows what Ginny'll do." Hermione nodded, "I think he was a little harsh on her..."

Ginny ran all the way to Ravenclaw where she met Angel leaving the common room, "Don't shut the door, Angel, I need to...is he in there?" Angel pulled a tissue out from her pocket, "Yeah, take this with you- you look like you need it." Ginny nodded her thanks and entered the common room. Zack was sitting in a high-back chair, "Ginny, what is going on?" Ginny plopped in the huge chair next to him, "Ron, he is what’s going on- he’s evil...” She broke into sobs on his shoulder; he sighed, Ron would have to answer for this....

Saturday, May third came with the announcement that Eddwords would be restarting the Duelling Club. Anne and Severus both made their way to the Great Hall to see what Eddwords would be teaching the students. They entered to see Eddwords searching for a duelling partner, "Ah, Severus, you should be able to compete against me- come and duel. Severus nodded and took his place on the strip. Anne watched nervously as Severus blocked Eddwords' first spell and shot the leg-locker curse at Eddwords. Eddwords was not fast enough and fell to his face. Severus rejoined Anne, "After three years in school of being in the duelling club and winding up champion of each year, you would think that I would have taken him down one step quicker." Anne smiled and Eddwords caught her, "Miss Schetzek, would you like to take the challenge?" Anne cocked her head to the side, "Yeah, under one condition- that the winner of this duel gets to fight the staff member of his or her choice.” Eddwords saw no harm in that and nodded. Anne took her place on the strip and winked to Angelique. She stood poised, but without her wand. Eddwords was confused, "This is no time for games, Miss Schetzek, get out your wand." Anne grinned, "There is no need for that in the least bit." He shrugged and sent a spell flying at Anne. She caught it in her hands and pitched it back at Eddwords, fastball style. In shock, he flew back against the wall and stuck there. Anne brushed off her hands and held out her right hand, "Come!" Eddwords' wand flew from his hand and landed in Anne's. She set the wand on the edge of the strip, "It would appear that I have won. Severus, would you mind? I need a staff member to duel..." He took his place on the opposite end of the strip. She nodded and they began, she using her wand against her equal, rather than her hands. Everyone watched as they shot various spells at one another and blocked them one by one. The duel lasted five minutes until Anne cast the wall-stick spell on Severus, and rather than block it as she expected, he sent it back to her in twice the strength. Anne found herself upside-down and stuck to the wall in a nanosecond. She was laughing as he countered the spell and caught her as she fell from the wall. She nodded to the students, "I think he won..." They stepped down from the strip and removed Eddwords from the wall. He was not too pleased, so he asked if two students would like to duel. Zack raised his hand and Anne nudged Ron, "Go up there; I know you want to...show off in front of Hermione." Ron looked at Anne as though she were crazy as he mounted the strip and stared his adversary in the eye. _"This is for stealing my sister,"_ he thought. Meanwhile, Zack was thinking, _"This is for hurting my Ginny..."_ Ginny, meanwhile, was having a mental argument with herself, _"I really should be cheering for my brother, but after Friday, well, I just don't feel like it."_ The duel began. Neither student hit each other at first, until Ron shot Zack's feet out from under him. Zack got up and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron found himself hovering, and then rotating around his stomach. Zack kept him spinning, and then raised him to the ceiling. Ron looked like he was going to be ill. Zack stopped Ron from spinning and dropped him on top of Crabbe and Goyle from only seven feet up. Anne couldn't help but laugh as Crabbe and Goyle shrieked like girls facing a rat. Eddwords glared at Zack and spat out, "Nice." Unfortunately, Ron fell over a few times before Harry and Hermione could reach him and was being targeted by the Slytherins with all kinds of unpleasant names. Jade stopped that with a glare in their direction and pulled Ron to his feet, "Go and rest- that was a bit rough." Another rivalry at Hogwarts had begun...

On Monday Anne found Ginny bouncing through the halls of Hogwarts right before curfew, "Well, Miss Weasley, why so jolly?" Ginny motioned for Anne to come close and whispered in her ear, "He kissed me!" Anne stood up and smiled sweetly, "Your first?" Ginny nodded and Anne grinned, "Lucky girl..."

On Tuesday Ron found out about the kiss from Draco who had been spying on Jade who had been Zack's lookout. He was, needless to say, not happy with this new turn of events. In Potions class Draco slipped him the note and sat there grinning. Moments earlier Zack had beaten Draco by making the perfect concoction to restore one's hair to its proper colour if it had been changed by a pranking friend or enemy. Draco nodded to Ron; they would be forced to form a temporary alliance to rid them of this pest.

Wednesday after classes, Draco and his henchmen cornered Zack in the hallway outside of Slytherin house. Little did they know they were being watched. Draco sneered, "You really think you can get away with all this? Stealing my glory in Snape's class is hardly fair- after all, my father-" He was cut off by a voice from behind, "Give it up, Malfoy; he's not worth it." He turned to see Jade leaning on the corner of the corridor cleaning her nails with a small dagger. He nodded to Crabbe and Goyle, "Get out of here. That one only brings trouble," he turned to Zack, "You watch your back." The three Slytherin boys left the scene quickly. Zack walked up to Jade, "Thanks. Have we met?" Jade shook her head, "Not really- my name is Jadelyn Adelaide Vanessa Riddle. You may just call me Jade. You are lucky that I keep an eye on those three. They talk tough, but every once in a while they get the guts to actually carry through on their threats. It's rare, but I've seen it happen- they tried to pull that stunt on a little kid, eight years old, but I threw them into the wall instead. 

Anyhow, I know who you are, no need to introduce." She turned to leave and tossed back over her shoulder, "Oh, if he tires to pull the 'my-daddy' stunt, his daddy pales in comparison to my daddy." Zack smiled, he thought that what Jade said meant that Draco grossly over rated his father's powers. Little did he know who her father really was.

Monday, May twelfth; Albus asked Anne to sit in with Eddwords and help in his instruction of blocking Dark Curses. Neither Anne nor Eddwords were pleased in the least bit.

On Tuesday, things had escalated. Eddwords had openly condemned Anne for her past in class and had cut on Snape for being sympathetic to her cause. Anne sat with Severus after dinner and told him the entire story. He rose, "That is the final straw, I am sick of that man and his accusations. He will be hearing from me this time." Severus stood to leave. Anne rose and spoke, "Do you want me to come along?" he shook his head, "Do you want me to silently follow you and spy on the whole thing?" Severus nodded, "Good idea- you can report also to Albus that this man is a menace to our instruction to the students." Anne scoffed under her breath, "And to my sanity..."

Anne reached the door of Eddwords' classroom to hear Eddwords shouting at a silent Severus. Anne flung open the door, "What on Earth is going on in here? Calm down!" Eddwords turned to her, "Miss Schetzek, this is no concern of yours. Leave." Anne raised her eyebrows, "I'm **_making_** it my concern." Severus then turned to her, "Anne, leave before you get hurt." She got cocky, "Sorry boys, that's **_not_** going to happen." Before she could blink, she noticed Eddwords' wand slip into his hand from up his sleeve and flick out toward Severus. Without having proper time to react, Severus slammed into the wall. His unconscious form slid to the floor in a heap. Anne was furious, "Mess with him, mess with me." Eddwords chuckled, "My dear girl- whatever can you do?" Little did he realize that he had begun to hover a few feet off the ground. Anne's right hand jerked upwards and he flew to the ceiling, "This is what I can do." He gasped and then thundered at her, "Put me down, this isn't fair fighting! You **_CAN'T_** do this!" Anne held him there, "Gee, you want fair, well it isn't fair to assault folks who you don't even know just because of your moronic assumptions either! And yes," she flicked her wrist and sent him through the window, "I **_CAN_**!" She twisted her wrist down and then bounced it up a hair. She heard Eddwords curse as he fell from the window and stopped inches from the ground. She went to the window and shouted at him, "Go to hell, because you aren't going anywhere else, bastard," and let him free fall the inches to the ground.

As Anne turned back into the room, she heard Severus moan, he was coming back to consciousness. Anne hurried over to him and helped him sit up. She wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the sleeve of her black Puritan dress. He dazedly attempted to speak as she held him close and gently tipped his head onto her shoulder, "Hush dear, don't try to speak yet, it's over, keep still." He rested for a few moments before pulling away, slightly uncomfortable, and attempting to stand. He rose slowly with her aid and leaned on her shoulder to keep his balance. Albus pushed open the door and looked them each in the eyes, "Care to explain?" Anne shook her head, "Not now- confine Eddwords- he's outside- the charges against him are physical assault and defamation of character. Severus and I are headed to the medical wing," she turned to Severus, "no protests accepted," and back to Albus, "and then we'll see about talk." Anne aided Severus out of the room while Albus watched a shaken Eddwords dust himself off.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was cancelled for Wednesday and Eddwords confessed to everything, although he wasn't sorry for a bit of it. Anne cancelled her classes on Thursday and Friday so that she could help Severus teach Eddwords' class. On Monday, Albus took over teaching so that Anne and Severus could each concentrate on their own work. Anne set her students to the task on compiling a small paper about their families. She was informed on Tuesday that the Ministry would be coming to talk to her on Friday. Nervously she watched her students work all week. 

Friday came all too quickly for Anne. She entered Albus' office promptly at one o'clock for the interview. She was motioned to her by Snape to stand beside him. She surveyed the faces in front of her. Minerva and Albus were seated with three men. Albus rose, "Anne, this is Cornelius Fudge, Arthur Weasley, and Amos Diggory. Arthur and Amos were chosen at random to come and hear these proceedings. I presume that you remember that this committee has been assembled to clear your name of the associations that you had with the Dark Arts?" She nodded, "Indeed." Albus nodded, "Then you may be seated." Fudge began the meeting, "Please state the following details for the purpose of these proceedings. These are strictly for the record. Amos?" Diggory nodded, "State your name, date of birth, and age." Anne replied, "Annelise Marrion Schetzek, October thirty-first, twenty five." Fudge was watching as Weasley scribbled down the information she gave. Diggory continued, "Nicknames used in during work in the Dark Arts?" "I was called Lise Matthews while working and Marri Schetzek while running." More scribbling, "State your citizenship and that of all immediate family." "My immediate family is all in America, my citizenship is dually in England and America, and my child's parentage gives her citizenship to both Ireland and France." Diggory waited for Weasley to finish scrawling everything down. "Current marital status?" Anne blinked a few times and sighed, "Widowed." Diggory paused a moment, "I'm sorry miss, could you please tell me the name of the deceased?" She proudly regarded those in front of her, not noticing the slightly surprised look on Severus' face, "Jonathan Adrian Schetzek, three years my senior and every bit the gentleman." Amos cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, but I have to ask a few details about Mr. Schetzek. Where was he born, what was his citizenship, and when were you married?" Anne nodded, "He was born in Cambridge, he was fully English in his citizenship, and we were married June eighth of my nineteenth year. He died the next day..." a tear sprang up in her eye and she quickly wiped it away. There was an awkward silence before Fudge continued the questioning, "What did you do during your time in the Dark Arts?" Anne stated, "Potions." Fudge wanted more information, "Are you willing to give us the names of your co-workers?" Anne smiled, "No." Everyone paused. Albus smiled, he looked like he expected this. Fudge was very puzzled, "Why not?" Anne elaborated, "There are two reasons, the first being that if I told you, then those you apprehended and their master would know that it was I who told you. The second reason would be that some of them are still clueless as to what exactly they are doing there, especially some of the lower ranks in the potions department. They must learn on their own and chose their path. Rending them from the only life that they know without their being aware of the true reason for your doing so, it is not right." Fudge shook his head, "Perhaps you do not fully realize the severity of these proceedings..." Anne's bright eyes glimmered, "I fully understand what I am doing and I ask that you think on how you would handle the same situation, should the roles be reversed." A dead silence hung in the room for a moment until Weasley broke through, "Miss Schetzek?" She smiled, "Yes?" He continued the questions, "Would you care to tell this committee of all your tasks undertaken while working for the Dark Arts?" She bowed her head, "No. I do not wish to delve into a past of which I an ashamed." Fudge cut in, "Then you are repentant?" She regained her soft smile, "Yes, but nevertheless, good has come of it all. God had a purpose for me there." He looked puzzled again, "What is that supposed to mean?" Anne explained herself, "Well, if I had never begun my studies with the old man in Cambridge, then I wouldn't have ever studied with the Dark Arts and I would have never learned wizardry. I discovered true loss with the death of my husband and later sister. Then I gained a daughter, ran, and in running I saw all of Éire and England on a very personal level. I made it here; I found that I could use what I learned to continue growing and to hold a place in wizardry society. I have indirectly found my place because I dared to study with the strange old man in Cambridge." Diggory smiled and faced Snape, "Professor Severus Snape, all in this room are aware of your previous work in the Dark Arts. Based on your observations and interactions with Miss Schetzek, has she renounced her former life in favour of her new one based on her experiences?" In a heartbeat he answered, "Yes." Fudge nodded, "This session is over." Anne rose and shook the hands of her interviewers. She turned to thank Severus only to find that he had already disappeared.

Anne scurried as quickly as she could to her chambers only to be met by an enthusiastic Angel, "Mum! I tried to find out what happened from Mr. Snape, but he wouldn't let me into his room. What happened?" Anne knelt down to Angel's eye level, "I'm cleared, they asked a lot of questions and all, but I guess that was it." Angel's eyes lit up, "No more running?" Anne broke into a grin, "Nope, we're here to stay." Angel jumped into her mother's arms, knocking her over, "Really?! **_YES_**!" Anne managed to stand and Angel dashed at her. Anne swung her daughter around her and lightly lit her on her feet, "Celebrate, Angel babe?" Angel's face turned playfully serious, "Only if it included ice cream." Anne nodded, "Just a moment." She knocked on Snape's door. He yanked it open and greeted the pair with a scowl, "What do you want?" Anne's mood dampened, "Sorry Professor," and she turned Angel toward the stairs. He tilted his head, "For?" "Disturbing you," she replied softly. He was not satisfied with the lack of knowledge that he possessed, "What were you knocking for?" Angel ducked under her mother's arm and stood in front of him, "Mum an' I wanted to know if you wanted to go and get ice cream with us in celebration of Mum's official freedom from the Dark Arts." He began to close the door, "No." Anne beckoned to Angel, "Come on love, let's leave the Professor to his devisings."

That evening before Dinner, Anne arrived at her chamber door to find a note tacked to the door,

" _Miss Schetzek, please meet with me as soon as possible. ~Severus Snape"_

Anne entered her room, placed the note on the table, and pulled her emerald cardigan over her black dress. She made her way to his office and waited for him to acknowledge her presence, "Miss Schetzek, or should I say Mrs. Schetzek, be seated. You do still realize that you are not out of danger from the Dark Lord?" Anne nodded, "Yes, both Angelique and I realize this. It is easier to live life knowing that there is someone to help fight the battle if it comes to that; I am happy in knowing that there are folks to help me protect my child." He hmpf'ed, "May I ask you a more personal question?" She nodded, "Shoot." He watched her intently, "How did your husband die?" Anne bit her lip, "I'm sorry...," she wiped a tear from her cheek, "I...he...." Severus rose and placed a hand on her left shoulder, "Anne?" she raised her face to meet his gaze, "Tell me when you are ready." She nodded, "Thank you." For a brief moment he nearly smiled, "Will you be all right?" She nodded again," Yes, thank you; I should find Angel- heaven only knows where she is off to...” He nodded as she left the room. _"This answer might not come for a bit of a time,"_ he thought.

The weekend vanished quietly, Severus listening intently to his neighbours on Sunday as they sang together. This time another voice joined them. It was deeper, richer, and had more of a Gospel edge to it than either Anne or Angel's voices. He swore that he had heard it somewhere before. Through the wall he heard the voice begin a hymn. The others joined the new voice:

_"I've got peace like a river_  
I've got peace like a river  
I've got peace like a river in my soul  
I've got peace like a river  
I've got peace like a river  
I've got peace like a river in my soul

_I've got love like the ocean_  
_I've got love like the ocean  
I've got love like the ocean in my soul  
I've got love like the ocean_  
_I've got love like the ocean_  
I've got love like the ocean in my soul

_I've got joy like a fountain_  
I've got joy like a fountain  
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul  
I've got joy like a fountain  
I've got joy like a fountain  
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul

_I've got peace like a river_  
I've got peace like a river  
I've got peace like a river in my soul  
I've got peace like a river  
I've got peace like a river  
I've got peace like a river in my soul"

Severus shook his head, how could any of them be so content? Perhaps the new voice had a reason, but the others? Anne, who taught unruly students day after day and somehow had the patience to council them in her spare time, and Angel, an orphan without any other family and no one her age around to talk to, she only had a few companions and only a few possessions. He found it odd that a family who had so little physically seemed so content, so rich, and so happy. He sighed; it had to be the other voice that brought such joy to the music. A burst of laughter rang out from next door, "And that's all for today- let's have some fun! Girl time!" Angel had spoken. Anne began to sing:

_"Take me down to the paradise city_  
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty  
Please take me home..."

Angel smiled, "Yeah, whatever- what about this one?

_"It just takes some time, little girl_  
You're in the middle of the ride  
Everything, everything'll be just fine  
Everything, everything'll be all right"

The other voice began to sing without introduction or explanation:

_"The French are glad to die for love-_

__  
A kiss on the hand may be quite continental  
But diamonds are a girl's best friend  
A kiss may be grand but it wont pay the rental  
On your humble flat, or help you feed your pussy cat

 __  
'Cause we are living in a material world  
And I am a material girl  
  


_There may come a time when a lass needs a lawyer_  
But diamonds are a girls best friend  
There may come a time when a hard-boiled employer  
Thinks you're awful nice  
But get that ice or else no dice  
He's your guy when stocks are high  
But beware when they start to descend  
But diamonds are a girl's best friend  
  


_'Cause that's when those louses go back to their spouses  
But diamonds are a girl's best friend."_

Angel burst into laughter, "Great one Jade- definitely a chick song." Severus nodded, Jade, it made sense, her speaking voice held the same rich quality that he had just heard in her singing. She was very attached to Angel and Anne; it was no wonder that she would chose to join in their family events. Then he stopped, wasn't one of them supposed to have contributed the joy to the hymn he had heard? Jade didn't have that wonderful of a life either, how could it have been her? Severus was stumped; who had sang so joyfully and why? Who had the reason?

Meanwhile, in the other room, Anne, Angel, and Jade sat laughing at the table, slouching in the chairs and tossing a beanbag at each other. Angel climbed up on the table and began to dance to the music that Anne had on her laptop. Jade joined her and they danced to everything from the songs of Éire to Pink and No Doubt. Anne took a picture with Jade's camera as a knock came from the door. Jade and Angel jumped from the table as Anne answered the door. Angel turned down the music, "Who is it, Mum?" Anne smiled and turned from her guest, "It's Professor Snape, dear. Jade, Angel- work on picking up all that stuff you two dumped off the table.” She turned to him, "Sorry- after the service they had a little too much fun. What do you need?" He shook his head, "I was just wondering why the singing was louder this morning. You seemed especially happy." Anne shrugged, "The increase in volume is due to Jade's joining us. I don't know why the up in joy- but today just seemed like the day to sing out and laugh loud. Really, how joy hits is a mystery to us all." Anne heard a shout from behind her and massive giggling. She turned around to find Jade and Angel engaged in a fierce tickle war. Jade was clearly winning; Anne turned back to Severus and shrugged, "I don't know what has gotten into them...it must be the warmer weather outside or something. Do you want to take a walk or something?" He shook his head, "No, I have work to do and an exam to write." Without another word he turned on his heels and left. Anne returned to the girls, "All right you two, let's clean up this mess and then Angel, get on some old clothes and you girls go play outside." In ten minutes the papers were restored to the table and the girls were racing up the stairs, ready to go and continue their battle outdoors.

Monday came and Anne gave her class the final exam preparation: find some topic that had been covered this year and either report on it or demonstrate it in front of the class. The rest of the week was given over to the students as free time to do as they wished, with the reminder that their work would be due in about three weeks on June twelfth, whether they liked it or not. On Friday, Anne noticed that Jade and Holli had been scheming all hour. They approached her at the end of class, "Anne, Jade and I have been thinking...can we have a ball at the end of the year?" Anne smiled, "A ball- formal I take it?" Holli nodded, "Sounds like a great idea- I will talk to Albus and Minerva tomorrow and see if we can find a date, time, and place. See me on Monday for details." The girls high-fived each other and scampered back to their haunt.

Saturday, May thirty-first, Anne approached Minerva with the idea, "Minerva? There have been a few requests this week that we have a ball at the end of the year. I was thinking that it could be held on the Saturday a week from today. Do you think we could pull it off and that Albus would like the idea?" Minerva smiled, "Anne, I think that is a wonderful plan. I will accompany you to Albus' office so that we can both endorse the idea."

On Monday, June second, Anne held her class outside in the beautiful sunlight. Holli and Jade were nervous to here Anne's news. Anne winked at them when they asked her about it, "I think that Albus will have something to say about it tonight during dinner, but you will have to wait just like everyone else to see what that announcement is...."

The entire school gathered for dinner as they did every day. Jade sat at the end of the Slytherin table closest to Holli and they both often turned and grinned to one another. Angel noticed this but did not question- if Jade had something planned, it was sure to be fun. Albus stood up as Anne slipped into her seat, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a special announcement to make. Due to the enthusiasm with which this idea was presented to me, Hogwarts will be having an end of the year ball. This formal event will take place at the end of this week on Saturday. Anne will be assembling a decorating committee, anyone wishing to help, please see her. That is all." A cheer rose up from the students, wild yelps heard above all of them from the throats of Jade and Holli. Anne grinned; she had wonderful plans for decorations...

The week went by in a flash; students were preparing for final exams the next week and Anne was meeting with the decorating committee every day after her outdoor class had finished. Angel was excited about the dance too and kept hinting that her mother should try to find a date and that date should be Professor Snape. Anne ignored the little comments and worked tirelessly on overseeing the painting of banners and on her own dress. She knew that Angel would want a gown for this event too, rather than just her dress robes. It was June, and the Great Hall was sure to get warm; Angel would want something light. On Friday morning at four o'clock, Anne finished the last few stitches on Angel's new dress. It was simple, a medieval under-dress with a full black over-skirt and a simple black bodice, laced up the front with black lacings. Anne sighed; her own dress was far from begun. She dug through her clothes chest; trying to find something she could alter to be formal enough for the event. She pulled out a streamline midnight blue velvet dress with spaghetti straps, and a silver vine and leaf pattern running up one side. Anne paused at the recollection of the last time she had worn the dress. She had been teaching her first observed day of classes and had been interrupted by the Malfoys. Anne sighed, it was a pretty dress and it was useless to keep it around if she was never going to wear it again. She tossed it on her table and began to think what she would have to do to the dress to make it perfect. Something would have to be done about covering her arm and she needed to edit the skirt. She sighed and tossed it back into the box; there were too many alterations and too little time to do them in. She went back to scavenging through the cedar chest until she found a long black dress, full in skirt and strapless. The dress needed work, but Anne thought that the silken gown would do well with a little love. She set to work, hoping that it would be finished before breakfast that morning.

Angel awoke and slid down the rope ladder from her loft. She smiled at her mother asleep on the table and gently shook her slumbering form, "Mum, wake up- you have to go to breakfast with me this morning." Anne groaned, "What time is it?" Angel sighed, "It's nearly eight, so time to get up." Anne pulled her hair back and gathered her basket of toiletries, "Breakfast first, then shower- dress is done, you can try it on tonight and then we can alter it if need be. I almost got mine finished..." Anne was slightly dazed from her lack of sleep and stumbled up to the Great Hall to find a cup of coffee. After eating and showering, Anne went back to work on her dress. She finished it just before her class was scheduled to meet and rushed outside to teach. She had been using her class time to have the students help her plan and work on the decorations and details for the ball. Even Malfoy had been helping out, seeing that Anne threatened to drop his grades if he refused. After class, Anne was confronted with a problem; only five other staff members had stated that they would be willing to help chaperone the event. Anne knew from all her experiences back in America that any event with teenagers required at least one chaperone for every ten students. With that statistic in mind, only sixty students would be properly watched. She had recruiting to do, so she asked Angel for help, "Hon, Albus, Minerva, Poppy, Hagrid, and Madame Sprout have told me that they would chaperone this thing. I need you to draft more help, but leave Severus out of this- I'm going to ask him before I return to my stitching." Angel winked at Anne, "Yeah, I figured. You so have a thing for him." Anne raised her eyebrows, "Whatever you say, little lady, whatever you say."

Anne paused a slight second before knocking on the door to the Potions room. She knew that he would most likely refuse, but as Angel had learned earlier in the year, it never killed anyone to ask. She knocked and heard him hail her from within, "Yes?" She answered, "Anne here- may I come in?” He replied, "Yes." Anne entered the room and gently closed the door behind her, "I have a question for you." He looked up from the pile of papers which he was so intently grading, "Hmmm?" She leaned on a desk, "Would you be willing to help chaperone the Spring Formal on Saturday?" He set down his quill and leaned back in the large leather desk chair, "That's tomorrow." Anne shirked back a bit and sheepishly admitted, "Yeah, I know...but we need chaperones or else Jade and Holli will have my head." He shrugged and blatantly stated, "I hate dances-" Anne sighed, "I take it that's a 'no'." "-but if I must, then I will chaperone," he continued. Anne stopped, her face lit up, "Then I will see you there at seven thirty?" He picked up his quill, "Is that when it begins?" Anne shook her head, "No, it starts at eight, but you want to be there before the students arrive. Come in through the back door up on the teacher's platform- there will be a teeming mass of students awaiting admittance through the front." He nodded and returned to his work; Anne turned to leave, "Have a nice night, Severus." He scribbled a few slashes on a student's paper, "You too, Anne."

Anne sat at her table staring at the dress she was altering. She had sewn up holes in the layers of petticoats that would lie under the skirt and she had fixed the hemlines that had been torn out of the skirt. She had added a sort of collar that blended into the off-shoulder straps of the dress, neatly hiding her arm if she did not move. Since Anne fully intended on dancing, she knew that she would have to include another safeguard against her arm being exposed. Even though her students were comfortable with her not covering her Dark Mark, there were a few who were not thrilled with having the reminder constantly in view. As a courtesy to the others around her, Anne would shield her Mark from view. She once again dug into the cedar chest and this time found a long black silk scarf with gold stars stitched into the fabric. She smiled; she would simply tie it around her arm as decoration, which would suffice for her outfit. She draped her dress over a chair and dug back into the cedar chest; there was a beautiful bolt of emerald green velvet on the bottom of the chest, and she had the perfect idea of what to do with it.

Anne slept until noon on Saturday and then rushed off to shower and gather her decorating committee in the Great Hall. To her surprise, they were already hard at work with Angel holding her mother's design plans. Anne smiled and jumped into the fray, they had a bit of work to do before eight o'clock.

Precisely at seven thirty, Severus entered the Great Hall through the back door and onto the platform. Anne motioned for him to come down to where she was sitting, so he quickly joined her. As soon as he sat down beside her, she handed him an emerald bundle, "Here, I found the material last night..." He pulled the silver bow with which she had tied the bundle and unfolded a beautiful set of robes, "Anne...they're beautiful...you **_made_** these?" Anne shrugged sheepishly and shyly spoke, "Yeah, I did...so, um, try them on, see if they fit...they'll go on over your black robes..." He rose and pulled the robes on, Anne helping him to tug the sleeves of his black robes through the large openings in the side of the garment. He sat down and smoothed his hands over the material, "You embroider also?" She nodded as he traced his fingers over the delicate silver leaf motif that traced its way around the hem of the robes, up the open front, and along the neckline. The robes were held shut with a silver clasp in the shape of a coiled serpent. She broke the silence, "If they're too long I can hem them up..." He shook his head, "Not at all, they're perfect. Thank you." She was sure that she nearly saw him smile at her. She sighed as the music faded up to loud and the students began to file in. Anne leaned back on the bench and listened as **_Livin' on the Edge_** blasted from the speaker system that she had rigged earlier that day, "This promises to be one hell of a night..."

About an hour and a half later and neither of them had left their bench. Anne smiled; the song was one that she knew well, "Severus, would you care to dance?" He shrugged, "Why not, I might as well since I'm stuck here." He rose and led her to the dance floor. Angel, watching from a distance, grinned. Severus was curious, "Why did you wait so long to get up? Why not earlier?" She smiled, "I take my time getting comfortable in social situations and I love this song. Angel and I used to sing the chorus together while we were on the road.

_Anyone perfect must be lying;_  
Anything easy has its cost.  
Anyone plain can be lovely,  
Anyone loved can be lost.  
What if I lost my direction?  
What if I lost a sense of time?  
What if I nursed this infection?  
Maybe the worst is behind.  
Feels just like I'm falling for the first time!"

He hmpf'ed, it almost seemed like she had been singing directly to him; it was slightly eerie. He immediately disregarded his conjecture and continued dancing until the end of the song. He escorted her back to the bench as the students began to dance to **_The Train_**. Anne settled back against the wall as he stated, "I have never liked this kind of music." Anne nodded, "Back in America, this was the best music you got at a school dance, everything else was, as my best friend Britta called it, 'Piece of Crap Rap'. This song is fun for Angel though, so we play it once in a while when she needs to burn off extra energy. It works well." He did not respond. She stared at the students scattered around the Great Hall and felt herself getting philosophical, "Look at them all out there, so naive about what they will have to face someday in the world 'out there'." Severus nodded, "So sure of their weak selves..." Anne picked up the conversation, "It's odd for me to think that at one time I was just like them, free from anything that could haunt me except if I had a crush on Britta's current boyfriend or not." He shook his head, "It is odd to teach them some days also. Knowing that they will never really know what hell is until they've been there." "They think they know what they will face, they think they know what hell really is," Anne continued, "but it's not having exams coming, it's seeing your loved ones die because of what you are involved in, it's working for someone you know owns your soul, it's knowing that the only way out is either death or running, it's having to abandon what you have known for so long for the sake of your sanity at the risk of your life, and it is that feeling of no control over anything in your life that you think matters. That's what hell is, and not a single one of these kids have any idea what is out there just waiting to pounce the second they seem weak." Severus stared at her for a moment, "Good Lord Anne, that was wise." Anne smiled, "Yeah, it just comes to me sometimes. Weird, eh?" The song ended and Severus sighed, "Not at all...." There was a moment's pause and then a slight commotion on the dance floor.

The commotion was near Jade, there was little surprise in that. She stood in the centre of a mass of students, "Anyone here know how to swing dance?" Draco raised his hand, "Anyone besides Malfoy?" Zack stepped forward, "I do." Jade grinned, "The next song is **_Zoot Suit Riot_** \- you want to be my partner?” He shrugged, "What about Ginny?" Jade turned and winked to the little redhead, "Don't worry honey, I'm not out to steal your man, I just need to borrow him for a song." Ginny smiled as the song began and a ring of students formed around Jade and Zack.

Angel ran excitedly to Anne, "Mum, you have absolutely got to come and see what Jade is doing out here, it is amazing!" Anne raised an eyebrow, "What is she doing? Or shouldn't I ask?" Angel dragged her mother out to the circle of students. Anne elbowed her way into the mass of students and watched in astonishment as Zack did a lift and Jade lightly landed behind him. They spun and dipped until there was no doubt who the dance authority in the room was.

After the song ended, Anne made her way back to Severus and lit upon the bench, "They were swing dancing." He hmpf'ed, "Figured as much." They sat silently as the next song began to play.

_I hope you never lose your sense of wonder_  
Get your fill to eat but never lose that hunger  
May you never take one single breath for granted  
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed  
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean  
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens  
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance  
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance  
I hope you dance...

Anne sighed, "Why oh why do they have to play this song?" she asked herself. She stared at her hands for a moment shook her head. Severus noticed an odd little look on her face, "Is something wrong?" Anne forced a sweet smile onto her face, "No, not really, I just remember that this song was one that Jon and I used to play during classes at Cambridge- we would slip mp3 players into the room and these really tiny headphones that the professors wouldn't notice and, especially during math and chemistry when there were huge numbers of students in the classes, we would sit and listen to music instead of listening to boring lectures on irrelevant stuff." She paused a moment to reflect and found that when she returned to reality that Severus had very gently taken her hand. She smiled and leaned against him, noting to herself that he did not seem to mind it too much. At the end of the song she sat up and waited for the music to begin again. 

_You spend all your time waiting_  
For that second chance  
For the break that will make it O.K.  
There's always some reason  
To feel not good enough  
And it's hard at the end of the day  
I need some distraction  
Oh beautiful release  
As memory seeps from my veins  
Let me be empty  
Oh and weightless and maybe  
I'll find some peace tonight

Anne shook her head and looked Severus in the eye, "I...have to go get a breath of air." She rose, "Too many memories..." Severus watched as she wove her way through the mass of students and out of the Great Hall. He searched the room with his gaze until he found Albus. He stood and made his way over to Dumbledore, "Excuse me, Albus? Anne had to leave the dance, are there still enough chaperones for this event if I go and find out what ails her?" The kindly headmaster smiled, "Of course you can go, the entire staff is here to watch the students; we have plenty of supervision.” Severus nodded and made his way from the room, " _I thought that she said they were in desperate need of chaperones for this event..."_

Anne had walked as far as the Entry Hall and stopped there to open the door and feel the warm night air comfort her with its embrace. She gazed out at the ten o'clock stars peering out from the dark blanket of the night sky, "God, what is going on here? I thought that it was long enough ago that I could cope with that song!" She sighed and sang softly to herself,

" _Hold on, hold on to yourself_  
'Cause this is gonna hurt like hell  
Hold on, hold on to yourself  
You know that only time will tell...

I have got to keep these emotions together!" She did not hear the quietly treading footfalls coming from behind her. She began to sing a modified version of the song that had hurt her in the Great Hall,

_"Spend all my time waiting_  
For that second chance  
For a break that will make it okay  
There's always one reason  
To feel not good enough  
And it's hard at the end of the day  
I need some distraction  
Oh beautiful release  
As memory seeps from my veins  
Let me be empty  
And weightless and maybe  
I'll find some peace tonight  
  
In the arms of an angel  
Fly away from here  
From this dark cold hotel room  
And the endlessness that I fear  
I am pulled from the wreckage  
Of my silent reverie  
I'm in the arms of the angel  
May I find some comfort there  
  
So tired of the straight line  
And everywhere I turn  
There's vultures and thieves at my back  
The storm keeps on twisting  
I keep on building the lie  
That I make up for all that I lack  
It don't make no difference  
Escaping one last time  
It's easier to believe  
In this sweet madness oh  
This glorious sadness   
That brings me to my knees  
  
In the arms of an angel  
Fly away from here  
From this dark cold hotel room  
And the endlessness that I fear  
I am pulled from the wreckage  
Of my silent reverie  
I'm in the arms of the angel  
May I find some comfort there  
I'm in the arms of the angel  
May I find some comfort here..."

Anne slowly sank to the floor, soft, muffled sobs issuing from her weary soul. The footfalls behind her resumed, little to Anne's knowledge, and nearly passed her before the figure knelt beside her. She felt arms gently embrace her and pull her close as she let her tears freely fall. She buried her face in the shoulder of her comforter and let herself cry until her grief subsided. She opened her eyes and for the first time noticed that the shoulder she was crying on was draped in emerald velvet. Anne brought her eyes to meet those of her friend and found that she met the gaze of Severus Snape. He helped her to rise and took her hands in his, "Anne, are you going to be all right? What's wrong?" She shook her head and cast her eyes to the stars, "It's about Jon." He prompted her to continue, "Go on." She sighed, "Going on could mean I dive into a very long story." He nodded, "If it will help you to deal with the situation, then please, tell.” Anne hmpf'ed, "Thanks. Jonathan and I met when I first came to Cambridge just before my eighteenth birthday. It was a difficult adjustment for me to make, I was in a new country without any family or friends and no one to talk to in the least bit. He made it so much easier. We came to enjoy a friendship, and eventually we discovered that we were meant to be with each other. We eloped the next year, after the end of the school year. I didn't care that he wasn't a wizard, and he didn't mind that I was one, after all, his aunt was a witch and it wasn't an odd thing for him to see magic. Anyway, we decided that since he had to drive his mother to the country to visit his aunt that evening, we would celebrate our wedding the night after. I was quite excited and after the wedding I went back to the communal house that those of us studying the Dark Arts shared and fell asleep dreaming of the future. I hid both the engagement ring and the wedding ring on a long gold chain that I have not worn in years. The entire plan of ours seemed so secret and so safe. The next night I went to his home and unlocked the front door as usual. I called his name and he didn't respond. I thought that perhaps he was trying to be funny and would surprise me at one of the hallways. I called again as I went upstairs, but still no answer met my ears. I pushed open the door of his bedroom and heard that song **_Angel_** playing on his stereo. There were candles on the nightstand, a bottle of wine, and two crystal challises, but Jon was nowhere to be found. I stepped farther into the room and...nearly tripped over his dead body. I felt ill as I called the police and reported what I had found. There was no blood in the room, but I couldn't stay there for long. I waited for them and after they came I left. I hid my tears that night as I cried myself to sleep. In the morning I awoke to the bright sun and a hopeless day. Jon's mother let me take whatever I wanted from the room, so I took the crystal challises, the bottle of wine, and the candles from the nightstand. Years later my sister was killed by Dark Wizards 'for my own good'. I was furious and depressed at the same time. I began to suspect that perhaps Jon had been murdered for the same reasons. I tried to check the records, but I was caught. I told the man who caught me that I was making sure that the LeFay case had been correctly dealt with. The next morning I awoke to the smell of smoke. In the centre of the room the challises were crushed around the smouldering remains of the candles. The bottle was empty and its contents were spilled around the mess of glass. That bottle is the only thing besides the rings that I have left- it is the bottle that holds the taper on my table. I packed all my belongings into my car and spoke loudly about selling it all. I lied; it all went to Jon's mother, Elenore, who promised to hold onto it for me. I spoke to the aunt, Chloë, about the situation and about my suspicions. She had already thought that it was Dark Magic that had killed him and told me that if I was bothered by the Dark Arts now that it had stolen my love from me that I was capable of deciding to go into hiding. That night I went once again to check the files. I was quick enough that I found him in a matter of minutes. I left. I couldn't live with the fact that my boss had ordered the execution of my husband. I adopted Angel, and ended up here, staying in humble cottages and cathedrals as we travelled, singing and laughing as we made our way on foot to wherever we wished to go. We fancied ourselves like Wordsworth, walking to reunite with the natural world of which we were a part. I learned so much about myself and I think that I am better off because of it all. I may not have my family back in America, but I have a daughter and a friend-family. I am slowly trying to let the past fade into the back of my mind so that I can move on, but as Angel often sees, it is not that easy to do some days, and that song still bothers me." She dropped his hands and closed the door which she had left open through her story. She abruptly changed the topic, "I'm going to go and get some sleep." He tilted his head inquiringly, "Do you wish for me to walk you to your chambers?" She let a sad smile creep across her lips, "I would very much like that." 

They silently walked together and stopped outside her door. He drew her close to him and for a few moments she surrendered to the embrace. As she pulled away, he gently framed her face with his hands and gave her a small kiss. She thought that she felt her heart stop beating for a moment. She could read the intentions of the kiss clearly; he wasn't trying to overshadow her memories or make her forget Jonathan, he was simply confirming that there was nothing that she had to hide from him and that he would always be there for her, even if he did not act like it when the students were around. She smiled, "Thank you." There was a pause, "Severus, would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" He smiled genuinely; the first time he had smiled at her, "I would be very honoured to be your guest, Annelise." She opened the door to her chambers and, with a wave of her hand, she lit the torches, "Watch where you step, I don't know where the cat is sleeping. Take a seat, I'll put the kettle on and find the teacups I have in here somewhere." She opened her sea chest and removed a beautiful copper teakettle which she filled from a jar of water she had sitting beside the chest. She hung the kettle over a torch and proceeded to produce two black porcelain teacups and matching saucers with gold trim from the trunk. She plucked two tea caddies from a little pouch on the inside of the chest and brought the whole thing to the table, along with a box of tea, "Sorry that the cups are so plain, but is the nicest I could afford when I was on the road." He shrugged, "I think they are lovely." She opened the box of tea and filled the caddies, "Oh, glad you like them. Do you want the little car or the little house tea caddie?" He glanced at them both, "The house, if you don't mind." She nodded, "Good choice." He raised an eyebrow, "Oh, why is that?" She grinned, "I like the car- Cadillac, 1959 Eldorado Seville- beautiful car. Chloë has the one I used to drive." The teakettle whistled, "Oh, tea's done, I'll get that...." Anne poured the water and they sat in silence for a moment as the tea steeped. A knock came at the door. Anne sipped her tea, "Who is it?" A tired voice replied, "Angel." Anne set down her tea and opened the door, "What is the trouble, love?" Angel yawned, "Too tired, and the dance seems to be getting uncomfortable for me. Everyone's with their sweetheart and there I was sitting on a bench and starring into the crowd. No-one was asking me to dance, so I decided to leave." Anne smiled, "I know how that feels, child." she knelt down in front of Angel, "That was the same way all my high school dances ended up. Do you want to go to bed or sit up a while?" Angel sighed, "Can I read your **_Hamlet_**?" Anne rose and tousled her daughter's red hair, "Go and get into your pyjamas while I try to find it." Angel headed to the corner with the screen drawn across it and on the way noticed Professor Snape for the first time, "Oh, hi P'fessor." He nodded to her, "Hello Angelique." Anne helped Angel pull off her dress and get into her night shorts and shirt. Angel headed to the loft while Anne found the book, "Mum?" "Yeah hon? What do you need?" Anne asked. Angel leaned over the edge, "Where's 'Trina?" Anne motioned to her hammock, "The cat is over there." Angel glanced at the cat and then back at her mother, "Can you bring her up here too?" Anne picked up Angel's little friend and placed the cat on top of her shoulder. Anne climbed up the rope ladder with both book and cat and deposited them with Angel, "Thanks Mum," she blearily managed to say. Anne kissed Angel goodnight and climbed down to rejoin Severus at the table, "That there is my full time job- keeping her safe and happy." Severus sighed, "That must be difficult." She shrugged, "It is, but there isn't another thing in the world that I would rather do than share my knowledge and life with Angelique- not that there aren't other things that I dream of doing someday, but they all include her," she paused, "Tell me about your family- any children?" He poured himself another cup of tea, "Before we get to the question you just posed, I have one to ask you." She sipped her tea, "Shoot." "Why did you say that you were so desperate for chaperones when the entire staff was there?" Anne tossed her hair back over her shoulder, "At the time when I asked you there were too few folks willing to watch the students." He continued, "Then why didn't you let me know when my services were no longer needed?" She blushed slightly and stared into her teacup, "Well...I don't really have many opportunities for social interaction with other people in my position. I'm lonely, Severus- dances are hard for me alone, so I wanted a friend there I could talk to. I thought you would understand that." He nodded, "It's all right, I do- after a while you get used to not having companions, as I have." Anne repeated her question, "Back to my inquisition- about your family?" He leaned his elbows on the table, "Well, you know that 'Nessa is dead, I told you about Robert, the only other sibling I have is Adelaide, and she blames me for the wrongs of the world. She is the youngest of all of us and her child, Jadelyn, was born when Adelaide was sixteen years of age. Mother has been dead since shortly after I joined the Dark Arts from the same causes that 'Nessa died from. Nigel, my father, disowned me just before my mother died. I have no family, so to speak." Anne sighed, "I'm sorry to hear that. On the topic of Nigel and Jade, Jade invited Angelique and me to come home with her this summer- she said that Nigel approved and that it would be a wonderful thing to hear laughter in the house. We will probably accept the offer, seeing as there is nowhere else for us to go. I'll put in a good word or two for you, eh?" He finished his tea, "Thank you. I should probably be getting up to Slytherin house, it is nearly ten-thirty and I think that the students will be a bit out of control after the dance ends at eleven." She smiled and rose with him, "Good luck," they walked to the door together, "Thank you for letting me dump all that on you, I'm sorry that it was a bit of a damper on the gaiety of the night, but thank you for listening anyway. All in all, I think that this was a wonderful night." He smiled and nodded, "Goodnight Anne." She nodded and as she closed the door she replied, "Goodnight, Severus."

Anne returned to the table for a moment. Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice from the loft, "So?" Anne sighed, "'So' what?" Angel peeked over the edge of the loft and watched her mother, "What is going on with you two?" Anne untied the scarf around her arm, "We are friends, Angel, and you know that." Angel nodded, "He kissed you, didn't he?" Anne blushed, "You could tell, couldn't you? Because you're a seer, you could tell." Angel grinned, "Yup. I think I can see my winnings falling into my purse by the end of the summer, rather than at Beltane next year." Anne went behind the screen to dress for bed, "Don't get started on that again." Angel continued, "Annelise Marrion Snape, I kinda like that...." Anne came out from behind the screen and slid into her hammock and sarcastically said, "Oh just shut up and go to sleep." Angel was still watching Anne, "You forgot to put away the tea things." "Angel, I'll get it in the morning; go to sleep," Anne replied. Angel wasn't ready to end the discussion, "Yeah, 'cause you're too preoccupied by thoughts of dear Severus." Anne rolled her eyes and turned over to face the wall, "I'm not listening." Angel grinned, "That's because his voice is still ringing in your ears...." Anne glanced over her shoulder at Angel, who was staring at the ceiling with the cat on her stomach, "Angel, I would recommend going to sleep before I have to cut your curfew even shorter." Angel laughed, "Love you too, Mum." Anne smiled, "You too, hon." Angel gave her mother her Cheshire cat grin, "And Severus." Anne sighed, "I just can't win against a full blood Celt, can I?" Angel turned over to go to sleep, "Not in the least bit."

The weekend had vanished before Anne noticed. Monday began exam week. Anne decided that her class would be working on their presentations all week in an open lab style class period that would occur from four to six each day. She also worked with a small group of students who wanted to do a Broadway review as a final presentation to their classmates. 

On Friday, each of Anne's students presented a little something. 

Students and their Projects

1

| 

Harry Potter

| 

The History of the Holy Grail  
  
---|---|---  
  
2

| 

Hermione Granger

| 

The History of Fencing  
  
3

| 

Ron Weasly

| 

Baseball in Detroit  
  
4

| 

Ginny Weasly

| 

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Contributions to Broadway  
  
5

| 

Neville Longbottom

| 

A Recitation of Ten of Shakespeare's Sonnets  
  
6

| 

Fred Weasly

| 

How To Get Rid Of A Defence Against The Dark Arts Instructor: an observational account of how we lost our last 5.  
  
7

| 

George Weasly

| 

How To Get Rid Of A Defence Against The Dark Arts Instructor: an observational account of how Anne managed to get that idiot off her back  
  
8

| 

Dean Thomas

| 

A Short Play: the dread of exam week  
  
9

| 

Alicia Spinnet

| 

Music in America: rock 'n' roll is here to stay  
  
10

| 

Lee Jordan

| 

Music in Britain: yeah, America has a big fan base, but who has Ozzy and the Beatles?  
  
11

| 

Colin Crevey

| 

This Year In Photographs: a collage  
  
12

| 

Lavender Brown

| 

Folk Dancing: what it all shares and how it tends to differ  
  
13

| 

Draco Malfoy

| 

An Idiot's Guide to Slytherin House  
  
14

| 

Crabbe

| 

How to Clean Goop off The Ceiling without Being Covered in It  
  
15

| 

Goyle

| 

What Not To Do While Playing Baseball: a short demonstration  
  
16

| 

Adrian Pucey

| 

103 Ways Not To Fall Asleep In Divination  
  
17

| 

Pansy Parkinson

| 

What Is A Ceildhe And How Is One Run?  
  
18

| 

Blaise Zabini

| 

A Dissertation on Romantic Poetry  
  
19

| 

Jadelyn Riddle

| 

The Goth Within: the history of Romanticism acted out from the perspective of a minor participant in the era  
  
20

| 

Millicent Bulstrode

| 

A Short Play: reasons never to try and confront a Celt  
  
21

| 

Holli MacCumhail

| 

The History of Anne, Part I  
  
22

| 

Hannah Abbott

| 

My Classes Described Through Limericks  
  
23

| 

Ernie MacMillan

| 

RENT In Reality: the story of Jonathan Larson  
  
24

| 

Owen Cauldwell

| 

Beyond The Barricades: the reality behind Les Miserables  
  
25

| 

Elenore Branstone

| 

The Background of West Side Story: the roots of the tale as found as far back as Pyramus and Thisbe  
  
26

| 

Susan Bones

| 

Where Has Anne Been: a look into the historical places Anne and Angel visited on their travels  
  
27

| 

Cho Chang

| 

Dance: a demonstration of what I know of Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Tap  
  
28

| 

Stewart Ackerly

| 

A History of All the Times Anne Has Smote Malfoy's Sarcastic Comments: performed in five minutes  
  
29

| 

Mandy Brocklehurst

| 

Celtic Europe: where were they from, where did they go, and how they kept history alive  
  
Anne had a wonderful time grading all the reports and watching all the presentations. Angel had joined her and decided that the Weasley twins' accounts of the Eddwords' situation were hilarious. Jade agreed that she had good taste in comedy. As a fun ending, Angel presented a little blip. She presented a photographic history of pranking, including things that reacted with newt eyes consisting of the pictures that Jadelyn had managed to take during Jade's stunt there. Her list covered every prank that she had served witness too, with the permission of the perpetrators as to what information was allowed to be released. She left the class in uproarious laughter. 

That night at Dinner, the students who had wanted to do a Broadway review cleared the Head Table off its platform before everyone ate and assembled the crowd in front of them. Anne had been invited to sing with them and their enthusiasm had spread like wildfire through their friends. They sang with the emotions of the scenes that they were portraying, igniting the audience. The total cast consisted of Jadelyn, Holli, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Neville, Ginny, and Anne.

Do You Hear the People Sing? (Les Miserables)

| 

Cast + Solos (Jade, Holli, Ginny)  
  
---|---  
  
30/90 (Tick, Tick...BOOM!)

| 

Ron, Harry, Hermione  
  
Another Day (RENT)

| 

Neville, Ginny  
  
Movin' On Up (Tick, Tick...BOOM!)

| 

Ron, Harry  
  
La Vie Boheme B (RENT)

| 

Cast + Solos (Anne, Holli, Jade, Ron, Neville)  
  
Make Them Hear You (Ragtime)

| 

Cast + Solo (Neville)  
  
Seasons of Love (RENT)

| 

Cast + Solos (Jade, Neville)  
  
Bohemia (Tick, Tick...BOOM!)

| 

Cast (Rhythm) + Solo (Ron)  
  
Officer Krupke (West Side Story)

| 

Cast + Solos (Ron, Harry, Jade, Ginny, Anne)  
  
What a Way (Tick, Tick...BOOM!)

| 

Anne  
  
RENT Finale (RENT)

| 

Cast + Solos (Ginny, Neville)  
  
Les Miserables Finale (Les Miserables)

| 

Cast  
  
At the end of the show, massive cheers sprang from the crowd. They took their bows and then invited the entire audience to join them in singing the finale from Les Miserables. After that, Jade held the cast onstage for a moment, "As usual, we couldn't have done this all on our own. Anne once again gave us the capacity for our performance. This woman gave us stage direction, musical instruction, ideas for our antics for each sequence and inspiration. I hope that all of you out there who have had contact with her this year realize what a gift of wisdom this teacher is to Hogwarts. She may not teach us things that will aid in our wizardry, but she teaches us love, understanding, and other life skills that we will never forget. She lets us breathe, she lets us express our creativity, and she is always there for each and every one of us if we ever need anything. She is a schemer and a dreamer. I know that she will be back here next year in some amount. Before we all get on to the feast, we would like to ask that Anne sing something for us. She has given very few of us here the gift of her voice, but I would like to ask that she share it once and for all with the masses. Anne, we have your music stash on hand, what do you wish to grace us with this evening?" Anne took centre stage, "Play-list six, track eight." Jade found the song and let it go.

_"I'm so cool, too bad I'm a loser_  
I'm so smart, too bad I can't get anything figured out  
I'm so brave, too bad I'm a baby  
I'm so fly, that's probably why it feels just like I'm falling for the first time

_I'm so green, it's really amazing_  
I'm so clean, too bad I can't get all the dirt off of me  
I'm so sane, it's driving me crazy  
It's so strange, I can't believe it feels just like I'm falling for the first time

_Anyone perfect must be lying_  
Anything easy has its cost  
Anyone plain can be lovely  
Anyone loved can be lost  
  


_What if I lost my direction_  
What if I lost a sense of time  
What if I nursed this infection  
Maybe the worst is behind  
  


_It feels just like I'm falling for the first time  
It feels just like I'm falling for the first time_

_I'm so chill, no wonder it's freezing_  
I'm so still, I just can't keep my fingers out of anything  
I'm so thrilled to finally be failing  
I'm so done, turn me over 'cause it feels just like I'm falling for the first time

_Anything plain can be lovely_  
Anything loved can be lost  
Maybe I lost my direction  
What if our love is the cost  
  


_Anyone perfect must be lying_  
Anything easy has its cost  
Anyone plain can be lovely  
Anyone loved can be lost  
  


_What if I lost my direction_  
What if I lost a sense of time  
What if I nursed this infection  
Maybe the worst is behind  
Maybe the worst is behind...

Thank you all! I look forward to seeing you all next year!" Anne stepped down into the mass of students as the performers placed the Head Table back in its proper position. 

Saturday the students left for their homes. Anne sent Angel home and her things with Jadelyn and she waited until the staff went home to leave the school. The staff relaxed all day Sunday, and Monday morning they departed. 

Anne was loading her things into the train that would take her to London where Jade had promised Nigel would meet her when Severus called to her, "Anne, a moment?" She finished pushing her sea chest into the compartment and jogged over to him, "Yeah?" "Just to warn you about Adelaide- she is likely to be extremely harsh on you if she figures out all that you have been through- she is a bit...eh...blonde to use an American phrase." Anne winked, "After being all where I have been, I think that I can deal with her- after all, I could always stick her to the wall." Severus gave her a quick, tiny smile, "I assume that you will be returning with us in the fall?" She nodded, "Through Hell or high-water, I'll be here." They stood there with an awkward pause between them before Anne broke in, "Oh, come here!" and gave him a quick hug, "Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you- look for a letter by mid-July." She turned away from him and joined the few other staff members who were on the train. As it was pulling away from the station she leaned out and waved to everyone on the platform, "See you all in September!" and blew a kiss to them. The school year had finally come to a close. Anne and Angel had survived another year, but this time they were not on their own.


	3. 3

On the sixteenth of June, Annelise Marrion Schetzek stepped off the Hogwarts Express onto Platform nine and three quarters. She had arrived in London. She searched the platform for both her daughter Angelique and Jadelyn Riddle, former Hogwarts student. She instantly found Jade leaning against a column and casually talking to an older man who seemed to resemble Saint Nicolas with his short white beard, his balding head, and slightly rounded figure. He was as tall as Jade, if not slightly taller. Next to him was a pale, bleach blonde woman with permed hair wearing the most ridiculously short magenta leather miniskirt and a tight black halter top. Anne thought, _"That must be Adelaide."_ Anne retrieved her trunks from the train and made her way toward Jade, "Hey Jade! This way, babe!" Jade turned to see Anne happily pushing her trolley to the group. The older man walked up to her and shook her hand, "I understand that you are Ms. Schetzek?" Anne extended her hand, "Call me Anne, there is no need to be formal toward me!" He laughed, "I feel the same way, I am Nigel Snape. Just call me Nigel; it's what everyone else does. I believe that your charming daughter is quite eager to see you." From behind Nigel came a little squeal as Angel bounded to her mother, "Mums! It's been a whole two days and I missed you a lot!" Jade laughed and gave Anne a hug, "This here is my mother, Adelaide. Adelaide, this is Annelise, she will be staying the summer with us." Adelaide shrugged, "Hey. I suppose that means that I might see you around the house sometime." Anne grinned, "It's so nice to finally get to meet you all," she turned to Nigel, "Jade has told Angelique and I so much about you, it is wonderful to finally see you in person." Nigel laughed heartily, "Well, well, that's good to hear, how about we get your things into the car and make our way out to the house? It is a bit of a trek from here to there, but we should be home in time for dinner!" Anne agreed and they were off.

That night they all ate a wonderful dinner in front of the fire in the drawing room of Nigel's magnificent house. The house was not a mansion, but it was decorated in such a way that it seemed regal. Anne and Angel each got their own rooms. Angel was in the room that once had belonged to Nigel's eldest son, Robert, and Anne was in the room that had once belonged to Nigel's eldest daughter, Vanessa. Across the hall from these two were both Jade and Adelaide’s rooms. Nigel's room was at the end of the hall. There were two unused rooms in the hallway, both of them the ones closest to Nigel's room. One was a guestroom, labelled clearly on the door as being such. The other room was not labelled and Nigel did not seem to want to divulge its contents. Anne could guess easily enough that this had been Severus' room. That night when she was tucking Angel into bed she noticed that Adelaide had left her room and was making her way down the stairs. She was bedecked in make-up, hoop earrings, bangle bracelets and some magnificently gaudy necklaces. Angel sighed, "Mum, Adelaide looks a bit sleazy- you don't think she is a streetwalker, do you?" Anne shared her daughter's sigh, "I don't know, hon, I don't know. I just thank God that we found Jade and that Nigel is so gracious to us." Angel nodded, "Amen Mum, amen. I'm glad too," she paused, "Mum?" Anne tugged Angel's blankets up, "Yeah babe?" Angel sighed, "Are you gonna tell Nigel our story?" Anne kissed Angel goodnight, "Yup- first thing after breakfast. I have to go talk to Jade now; you get some sleep, O.K.?" Angel grinned, "'K Mum. G'night." Anne turned out the lights and closed Angle's door. She slipped across the hall and knocked lightly on Jade's door, "Come on in." Anne entered to see Jade and Nigel playing a game of wizard's chess, "Jade, can I speak with you for a moment?" Jade nodded and excused herself. They quitted the room for the hall, "Jade, I want you to know that I intend to tell Nigel everything tomorrow after breakfast. I will detail what you heard in class and a little more that I think you should well be aware of; only one other soul besides my Angel currently is privy to this information. I am unaware as to how Nigel will react to this, so I feel that you should be forewarned." Jade nodded, "All right, I think what I will do is introduce the idea first- tell him that you wanted to reveal your history to him, and that it is not one that is readily acceptable but to have patience and hear it through. That way there is a bit of a buffer in place. I think he will see it in a positive light." Anne sighed, "I'm just worried because of what happened with Severus...." Jade smiled, "Yeah, I'm going to see if I can get Nigel to talk to me about that- maybe we can get Severus home this summer." Anne let her worried countenance fade into a smile, "Yeah, I want to try that. It would be good for them both." Jade gave Anne a hug, "See you in the morning; don't worry, considering what he has heard coming from Adelaide, your story will be light...."

The next morning, Anne dressed in her blue dress and her billowing robes that she had worn for her revelation at Hogwarts. She ate breakfast in silence and then followed Jade to the living room. Jade addressed Nigel, "Adelaide’s not home, is she?" Nigel shook his head, "No- she won't be all day today." Jade sighed, "Thank God...Anne has something that she wishes to reveal to you- her past. It is not a pretty sight and in most respectable circles she would be pushed away because of it. She told a basic outline of it all to her students and to me. She wishes to tell a little more detailed tale to you. I ask that no matter how much you wish to interrupt her and stop her tale that you not and that you have patience and hear her through." Nigel nodded, "Fair enough. What is it you have to say, Miss Anne?"

She took a deep breath and began her tale, telling it in much of the same manner that she had done earlier to both her students and to Severus, "I moved from America to England when I was eighteen years old to attend Cambridge University. It was there that I met others involved in wizardry. One of them introduced me to their teacher, an old man living in a neighbouring village. I won't go into all the details of my life at this time because it is still a bit painful to talk about. The old man eventually took me to a meeting of other wizards. That was where I first met Voldemort. I began my work as a sorceress and that same nineteenth year I wed a man who I had fallen in love with in my eighteenth year. He was wonderful. I didn't care that he wasn't a wizard, and he didn't mind that I was one, after all, his aunt was a witch and it wasn't an odd thing for him to see magic. Anyway, we decided that since he had to drive his mother to the country to visit his aunt that evening, we would celebrate our wedding the night after. I was quite excited and after the wedding I went back to the communal house that those of us studying the Dark Arts shared and fell asleep dreaming of the future. I hid both the engagement ring and the wedding ring on a long gold chain that I have not worn in years. The entire plan of ours seemed so secret and so safe. The next night I went to his home and unlocked the front door as usual. I called his name and he didn't respond. I thought that perhaps he was trying to be funny and would surprise me at one of the hallways. I called again as I went upstairs, but still no answer met my ears. I pushed open the door of his bedroom and heard the song **_Angel_** playing on his stereo. There were candles on the nightstand, a bottle of wine, and two crystal challises, but Jon was nowhere to be found. I stepped farther into the room and...nearly tripped over his dead body. I felt ill as I called the police and reported what I had found. There was no blood in the room, but I couldn't stay there for long. I waited for them and after they came I left. I hid my tears that night as I cried myself to sleep. In the morning I awoke to the bright sun and a hopeless day. Jon's mother let me take whatever I wanted from the room, so I took the crystal challises, the bottle of wine, and the candles from the nightstand. I found myself quickly growing in my powers. He did not have his own body at that time. At first I found him somewhat repulsive, but as time grew I found that I became used to much stranger things than someone sharing a body. The parasite taught me many different things, most of them harmless at first. He taught me levitation, duelling, basic spell casting, and finally the Unforgivable curses. By the time I turned twenty-one I was one of the Death Eaters. I became a favourite of Voldemort's, simply because I believed all that he told me and I was easily led. Then came the missions- dirty work that was a bit disconcerting at first, but I got used to it. Eventually I was sent on a mission to 'eliminate' a troublesome Muggle who was probing to far into the past of one of our members. I failed that mission- instead of killing her according to the plan I lost track of her in the subway system under London. That was my first failure, but Voldemort was quite forgiving of my miscalculation. He told me that not everyone can succeed every time. He assigned that task to another Death Eater and let me take a break. I rested for a period and then on my twenty-second birthday he stationed me in Ireland. That was where I met Angel, but I will get to that later. A group of Death Eaters, myself included, went to a little village on the sea to root out the source of a disturbance there. A local witch and wizard had become too strong for our comfort and were attempting to find anyone associated with the Dark Arts and turn them in to the Ministry of Magic. We confronted them in their home one night. I refuse to go into any detail as to what events came to pass that night- they are to horrific to remember......but anyway, after they were dead, we heard a noise from the upstairs. A five year old child had heard our noises and was crying in her sleep. I convinced the rest of the group to leave and to let me take care of the child. They did and I went upstairs to check out the situation. I found the little girl, but couldn't bring myself to harm her. That night I made a decision. I would leave the Dark Arts and take the child with me. I stayed at the house that night. The next morning I returned to the Dark Lord with a sinking feeling in my heart. Five months later I learned that Voldemort had sent a group of Death Eaters to my home town. My sister Grace had been training in wizardry and had been 'eliminated' as a challenge to my rise to power. My sister was killed by Dark Wizards 'for my own good'. I was furious and depressed at the same time. I began to suspect that perhaps Jon had been murdered for the same reasons. I tried to check the records, but I was caught. I told the man who caught me that I was making sure that the LeFay case had been correctly dealt with. The next morning I awoke to the smell of smoke. In the centre of the room the challises were crushed around the smouldering remains of the candles. The bottle was empty and its contents were spilled around the mess of glass. That bottle is the only thing besides the rings that I have left. I packed all my belongings into my car and spoke loudly about selling it all. I lied; it all went to Jon's mother, Elenore, who promised to hold onto it for me. I spoke to Jon's aunt, Chloë, about the situation and about my suspicions. She had already thought that it was Dark Magic that had killed him and told me that if I was bothered by the Dark Arts now that it had stolen my love from me that I was capable of deciding to go into hiding. That night I went once again to check the files. I was quick enough that I found him in a matter of minutes. I left. I couldn't live with the fact that my boss had ordered the execution of my husband. In the middle of that night I packed all I owned into a cedar chest, a sea chest, and a satchel. I levitated them quietly out of the door and left the service of Voldemort forever. The next day I found myself in the same seaside town I had carried out my last mission in. Curious, I went to the local orphanage. Sure enough I found the same five year old girl in sitting in a corner. She was crying softly to herself, asking everyone who passed if they could adopt her. I talked to the nuns and left that day with a daughter. I told her to gather her things so she dragged a miniature sea chest over to me. We left and I booked a flight to England, spending much of the little Muggle money I had left. We stayed in humble cottages and cathedrals as we travelled, singing and laughing as we made our way on foot to wherever we wished to go. We fancied ourselves like Wordsworth, walking to reunite with the natural world of which we were a part. We kept moving through my twenty-third year and my twenty-fourth year until we had seen much of England, Scotland, and Wales. We had a few scrapes nearly being captured, but made it out of all of them. I home-schooled Angel for the entire time that we travelled. Before I had turned twenty-three Angel had told me how her parents died. I had very cautiously told her of my involvement in the Dark Arts. She had been entirely open and accepting of my past, forgiving me because of my own regrets of having ever been associated with Voldemort. Angel knew basic wizardry from her parents and we continued to discover for ourselves what skills we possessed. I turned twenty-five on October thirty-first of this past year. I stumbled across Hogsmeade quite by accident and stayed there until someone told me of Hogwarts. I was down to my last ten gallions, so I pressed the trail. We carried all our luggage with us one day and set out to find the castle. I learned so much about myself through my travels and I think that I am better off because of it all. I may not have my family back in America, but I have a daughter and a friend-family. I am slowly trying to let the past fade into the back of my mind so that I can move on, but as Angel often sees, it is not that easy to do some days, and that song still bothers me. If you see things in a forgiving light, then I thank you; if you see it fit that Angel and I should leave so as to be sure that there is no trouble, then I will gladly do so."

Silence hung in the air. Jade shook her head, "I had no idea that you had been married before- what a hellish way to start off your adult life- as a widow." Anne nodded, "Yeah, it **_was_** hell, but in the long run, it was his death that pushed me the farthest to leave." Nigel rose, "Ms. Schetzek, you have a very wise outlook on everything you have been through. You may or may not know that I have dealt with someone in my family turning to the Dark Arts and that it was highly destructive to us all. I have never had someone repentant of it coming to my home and explaining their past with such openness, including the resolution that you will willingly go if that is what I wish. I do not wish such a thing. I am glad that you can see through the darkness and find the light there. Welcome back, Ms. Schetzek." Anne beamed and thanked Nigel profusely. Angel burst in the door, " ** _YAHA_**!!! We's got ourselves a home that doesn't move this summer!" Anne laughed as Angel hugged Nigel and Jade, finally landed laughing in her mother's lap. Anne lightly shoved Angel off, "You want to dance?" Jade's face lit up, "Oh I am so going to steal Adelaide’s stereo for this." She ran off upstairs and came back with a boom box and a case of CD's, "Adelaide insisted that I get some Muggle music, so I told her that if she let me pick and then she spent the cash on them that I would willingly get some. I have just about every late seventies/early eighties rock band that you can imagine and a few more recent discs that she had a friend pirate for me. Angel, what do you want to hear?" Angel was bouncing, "You got a rock mix?" Jade nodded, "Yeah, any particulars?" Angel kept bouncing, "Yeah, I want to hear **_Children of the Sun_** , **_Shot Down in Flames_** , **_Paradise City_** , and **_Sharp Dressed Man_**. Got any of that?" Jade shook her head in amazement, "Sure do- on my 'Jade's awesome rock album number sixty three'." She set up her system and they began to dance around the sitting room, Nigel smiling at the three ladies who so joyfully enjoyed each other's company. The summer was sure to be energetic, with these three around, and it would be no where near as morose as the summers when it was only Jade and Adelaide to keep Nigel company.

The next day Angel decided that she and her cat Kathleen would take a romp around the grounds. Apparently it was so pleasing that they decided that it would happen every day that it was possible. On Thursday the nineteenth, Angel came running back into the house carrying the cat during tea time, "Mum! Me an' Kath discovered somethin'!" Jade set her teacup down, "And what is it that you think that you have discovered?" Angel set the cat down, "We discovered a barn!" Jade looked puzzled, "I've lived here my whole life and I've never seen a barn." Anne petted the cat as it scampered under the table, "Well, I guess that tomorrow, when you have the whole day to explore, you and Jade will have to go out there and see what you can find in it, if it is safe." Jade turned to Nigel, "One: Where did this barn come from, and two: Why haven't I seen it?" Nigel laughed, "That barn has stood on this property for as long as it has been in the family (and that is some length of time!). You never saw it because you were the kind of child that preferred to sit inside and read rather than go explore the premises." Jade shrugged and returned her attention to Angel, "Right, tomorrow morning after breakfast, you and I are going on an adventure."

Breakfast came too slowly for Angel's taste. She wanted to be out exploring the barn all night. To pass the time, that evening she explored the outside of the barn, finding all the doors and windows that she and Jade could possibly make their entrance through. That night she spread out a huge sheet of paper in the library on Nigel's big desk and sketched picture of the barn. She drew arrows to where she thought they should go in and she made a list of all the things that they might find in the barn. She dragged her paper to dinner by the fireplace and spread it out on Jade's lap, "I think we might find old tools in there, maybe a dead mouse, a bat, maybe some old toys or clothes or something, and if we're lucky, we might find some old secret wizard books or something- maybe there is a book that tells us how to get rid of evil Dark Wizards!"

The pair set out at nine o'clock to see what they could find in the old barn. Anne and Nigel watched them from the back deck, "The most they will find in there will be whatever the children left there many years ago," Nigel commented to Anne. She smiled, "Whatever they find, it will be treasure to them."

Jade stood before the double doors of the big barn, "There is no way that we can lug these things open by ourselves- where else did you find a door?" Angel led Jade around to the side of the barn, "Here's another one, but they all seem to be pretty big and they look heavy and stuck. We can try a window...." Jade pointed to a window high up on the side of the barn, "There looks to be a ladder on the side of the barn leading to that one...you go up there first so that I can catch you if you fall." Angel easily scampered up the side of the barn, her tattered jeans and torn t-shirt catching on the ladder every few moments. She reached the window and jumped in, "There's a floor here and it's stable," her baseball-capped head popped out of the window, "Come on up!" Jade, for once not in a skirt, but in black jeans instead and a black tank top, climbed up the side of the barn like a giant spider. She hopped through the window frame and landed near angel on a dirt covered second floor. They walked over to the edge of the floor and looked down. The first floor was a huge empty space covered in dust. They scanned the second floor and discovered that the balcony they were standing on wrapped around three of the sides of the barn and at the inner junctions of the sides were railed steps leading up to the hay covered floor. Jade scuffed her boot under the hay, "If we are ever going to find anything, we need to get rid of some of this hay." Angel picked up an armload and threw it out the window they had come in through, "I know how to solve that problem easy enough." They began their task immediately, making their way from window to window, two on each side and four across the back. Angel found an L.P. in a plastic case under the hay. She pulled it out of the case, "Jade! I found music!" Jade paused there work by the second window on the back and knelt by Angel, "You sure did- who is it?" Angel flipped the album over to see the cover, " ** _The Ozzman Cometh_**...that's an Ozzy album! Mum's got this on her computer!" Jade placed it back in the case, "We'll keep it in here for now so we don't hurt it while cleaning." They continued working until they found a big wooden chest by the third window. Jade pried it open and found herself looking into a box of antique tools, "Angel, these have got to be at least as old as Nigel...we found more treasure!" Once again they went back to work. By the fourth window they found a metal footlocker. Jade pulled out her wand from her back pocket and chanted, "Alohamora!" to unlock it. She and Angel slowly pushed open the heavy lid to see piles of old books. Jade made sure that the lid was propped up and removed one of the texts. She opened it to the first page and read the inscription written in a delicate and feminine script, " _Severus, your love of Romanticism is wonderful, may it follow you all of your days. Love, Mother._ " Angel gasped and pulled a big book from the pile, " ** _Percy Bysshe Shelley: Collection of Works_**. Jade, this is an old book! Look, the writing in it is done by hand...do you suppose that it is a draft or something?" Jade shook her head, "I don't know...Angel, these are Uncle Severus' books from before he was kicked out of the house. Your mother is going to flip- so is Nigel...." Angel looked quizzical, "Severus was kicked out of the house?" Jade nodded, "Yeah, after he joined Voldemort. Wow...when he comes home this summer, I am giving these back to him." Angel smiled, "He's coming here?" Jade put her finger to her lips, "Shush about that- Anne and I are conspiring to bring he and Nigel back to speaking terms. Let's get back to work and see what else we can find." They closed the lid of the trunk and Jade locked it once again. As they finished that side, Angel sat down on a wooden crate, "I'm getting tired- we need a break!" Jade laughed, "Angel, what are you sitting on?" Angel leapt off the crate, "Holy Jeepers, I have no idea!" Jade lifted the inset lid off the crate and they both starred in wonder at the collection of tin toys that sat within. Anne pulled out a wind-up frog, "These are ancient! I wonder if Mum has ever played with anything like this..." They closed the lid and took their break. They went back to work and found an odd shaped object secured by the hay packed around it and covered in burlap. Jade pulled the cover off to reveal a three foot diameter disco ball. Angel was ecstatic. She put her extra energy into cleaning the rest of the balcony. The last thing they found was a large black box and a flat box about four feet in length. They brushed the dust off the black box and pulled the flat box away from the front of it. Angel gasped, "Jade, you'll never guess what this is..." Jade broke in, "Yeah, I will, I begged Mum for one of these ever since I was ten- it's a guitar amp, which means that this," she tugged over the flat box, "is most likely a guitar." Jade opened the box as though she was opening a sacred chest. There, gleaming in the dim light of the barn was a beautiful electric guitar, "Jade, where would this have come from- do you guys use electricity?" Jade nodded, "Yeah, Nigel thought that his children should all have knowledge of both worlds: Muggle and Wizard." Jade lifted the instrument from its case; it was a rich red overlaid with glimmering black glitters. Jade gazed at it lovingly, "This, my dear, is true treasure." The girls finished with their cleaning and ran as fast as they could back to the house. 

Anne and Nigel were laughing over an exploded pot of spaghetti sauce when the girls burst into the kitchen, "Come on Mum, Nigel! Jade an' me found treasure and we need help bringing it in the house!" Anne wiped her hands on her apron and shrugged at the tomato in her hair. She and Nigel followed the girls out to the barn. Nigel heaved the box of tools on his shoulder while Anne lifted the crate of toys. Jade carried both the amp and the guitar while Angel carried the disco ball. After that had been deposited in the house, Angel and Jade lugged the footlocker of books into the house with the L.P. slipped into it. Anne quickly finished cooking and cleaning up the mess and they ate dinner and washed dishes as fast as they could, the girls being eager to share their treasures with the family. Everyone gathered in the library after all the things that had been dragged upstairs with much eager laughter. 

Angel held up the L.P., "This was the first thing we found other than a whole lot of hay- it is a copy of **_The Ozzman Cometh_**! We shout victory for this find!" Anne grinned, "Hand that awesome thing here- I want to see if the L.P. is in as good a condition as the case looks." She slid the beautiful vinyl record out of its case and smiled, "Hot damn- this is in amazing shape for as long as it must have been out in the barn. Whose was this?" Nigel grinned, "It belonged to my son Robert before he died. He prized that like it was gold- come to think of it, none of my children have been out in the barn since after he died...." Anne slid the record back into its slipcover and looked at the cardboard cover, "Nigel- did Robert ever go any of Ozzy's concerts?" Nigel shrugged, "That I know of? Honestly, I think he might have, but I am really not too sure. Why?" Anne broke into a wide grin, "This monster is signed. Here Angel, look here- right under the title- see that? Ozzy signed this cover- Robert must have met him at one point- cool, huh?" Angel smiled as Jade pulled the lid off of the first box that they had uncovered, "Angel- help me showcase this, won't you?" Angel helped Jade lift the lid off the box and each of the girls pulled out a tool of some sort. Jade spoke, "These have got to me nearly as old as the hills- we think that they may have been the first inventions after cavemen stopped using rocks as tools." Nigel laughed heartily, "Those belonged to my father and were passed on to me when he died long before any of you ladies were even thought of." Angel had already set her showcased items down and was opening the footlocker. Nigel grew serious, "Ladies, let's not open that one now, I know where they come from and that fact is enough." Jade motioned to Angel as Anne figured out who he referred to- that trunk must have belonged to Severus- there was no one else that Anne could figure Nigel would be so closed about. Angel and Jade decided that the disco ball could hang in Angel's room since Adelaide would not miss it much and there was no where else it needed to go. Finally Jade revealed her treasure. She had every one close their eyes while she plugged in the amp and picked up the guitar. She strummed a chord with the volume low and to her delight it was somehow in perfect tune. She turned the volume up and grinned, she had it set on five, which would be loud enough to put everyone in shock- she turned it down a notch- Jade looked at the volume- it went to eleven. She began to play. Anne opened her eyes first and was ecstatic to find that Jade was playing Pink Floyd's **_Run Like Hell_**. Anne drummed out the beat on the coffee table in front of her while Angel danced around the room. Anne made up her mind that as soon as they got back to school, Hogwarts would be forming a rock band.

The next day Anne and Jade met in the living room to have a bit of a jam session. Angel and Jade decided the day after that, Sunday, June twenty-second, that since they had a barn and at least part of a band, they should host a barn dance. Jade got to work and Monday had a band together. The week flew by and it was soon Saturday- the day that Jade had decided would be perfect for a country barn dance.

Anne watched the crowd mingle from her perch in the corner on a pile of hay-bales. She sighed, what she would have given to have had Severus to keep her company. She watched crowd when she was not playing piano and noticed that Jade had a certain flair for country dance, as did Angel. Anne laughed to watch Nigel dancing with Angel. She liked the fact that Angel was gaining a grandfather figure through the summer, she just hoped that there would be some way to pull Severus back into the family. She sighed- she had to stop her musings to play with the band.

Nothing much happened in the lazy summer days that followed. Anne brought Angel a set of sparklers to play with on July four, in celebration of American Independence Day. Angel gave a few to Jade and the girls danced around the yard waving their silver sparks. The next day, Nigel made a surprise announcement, "Well folks, I have decided that we should take a trip to London this weekend. If you would like to come along, I have tickets to 'The Phantom of the Opera' for Sunday evening." Angel jumped onto Anne's lap, "Can we Mum, please?" Anne laughed, "Of course- Nigel invited us, so we will go- I think that you will like this show, I saw it once while in the United States."

The next weekend, after spending Monday thru Thursday at home, Jade and Angel decided that they wanted to go to London again. Anne declined. There would not be another excursion when she was still recovering from the first. Nigel agreed, so the girls decided to recreate the city within the house. The bedrooms became theatres and museums, the library was Windsor Castle, the kitchen and dining room were restaurants, and the living room became a club. The conservatory became royal gardens and they pretended that each place they went they met with another famous artist, musician, movie star, or person of royalty who begged to take them out for the evening. Anne laughed so hard when Jade told Angel that she was being escorted by Prince William that she nearly fell out of her chair in the library. Angel bested Jade by saying she was escorted by Orlando Bloom, who was _far_ more attractive than the Prince. Nigel and Anne were forced to deal with living in a little London all weekend, until finally Mrs. Angel LeFay Bloom and Princess Jadelyn Windsor decided it was time to come home and resume their normal lives.

Anne took a deep breath on Wednesday, July sixteenth. She had to talk to Nigel after dinner, "Nigel, I know that you have done so much for us and I almost feel out of place asking this, but would you mind if one of my friends from Hogwarts comes to visit us for a while?" Jade braced herself- she knew what Anne was about to ask and she was nervous about Nigel's reaction. Adelaide smirked, "Only if he's fine and I can borrow him." Anne gave a rueful smile, "No- he's sweet, but a bit melancholic." Nigel grinned, "Why not- what is his name?" Anne took a deep breath and locked eyes with Jade, "Severus Snape." Nigel's reaction was instantaneous, " ** _WHAT?!!!_** Absolutely not! I am sorry, Anne, but he is not welcome in this household, not after who he worked for and what he did while working for him! I cannot stand for it, not after what he did to Robert!" Angel looked puzzled, "Mum?" Anne nodded to her, "Later." She turned to Nigel, "I know that this is difficult for you, but please hear me out. Severus told me about the incident with Robert and his family...he only told me to help me cope with my past- that was the reason he left the Dark Arts, and it is _very_ hard for him to discuss his history..." she sighed, "...even with me. I don't blame him- we both have done some awful things in our lives- and it seems that he is tortured by those ghosts daily- he has no way to forget. The man only has a few people he will talk to at all, really only Albus, Minerva (and to her it is very limited), and I. I don't know how he has fared this long. We discovered our commonality and formed a sort of a confidentiality and a friendship. He helps me to deal with my past, and I let him reveal what of it that he feels it necessary to divulge or whatever is bothering him at that time. We are just there for one another and I have to say, without him, there would have been quite a few times that I would have been at a loss as to what to do about a situation." Adelaide looked disgusted, "You actually trust that worm?" Anne nodded, "With my life- he is honest about what he has done and how he feels about it. He refuses to let people into his life because I would guess that he found that people are often to quick to judge and to look not at the 'is' but the 'was'- he keeps to himself, withdrawn, silent, and sullen." Adelaide was not convinced, "Hmpf- he's never been sullen before- he was always arrogant toward me." Anne shook her head, "I couldn't see him arrogant- it doesn't fit what he has become. Maybe it is time that you both re-meet Severus: that you discover who he is now, not who he was. No one deserves to be judged by another imperfect being." Adelaide began to get upset, "But look who he's worked for!" Anne looked at Adelaide in disbelief, "Honey, you slept with Voldemort." Jade nodded, "See here, case and point." Adelaide rolled her eyes, "That was before he killed the Potters." Anne glared at her pointedly, "Adelaide, that justifies **_nothing_**. Adelaide stormed out of the room as Angel was returning from getting a drink of water, "Whoa- watch where you are going there!" Nigel sighed, "Anne, this anger has gone on for far to long- this family needs to heal. You said he is at Hogwarts?" Anne felt the tension in her body deflate, "Yes, he teaches Potions." Nigel nodded, "Respectable!" he broke into a grin, "Oh, let's have my boy home! Anne, owl him- and when you do, I'll add in a personal invitation of my own!" Jade sprang from her chair, " ** _YES!!!!!_** " Nigel looked surprised as Jade began to dance around the room with Angel, both of them chanting, "Uncle Severus is coming home! Home, home, home! Uncle Severus is coming home!" Anne had flopped back in her chair, laughing with joy, "Thank you, Nigel!"

The rest of July and the first seven days of August flew by with out a hitch. Severus had agreed to come to the house on Nigel's birthday, August tenth. Angel, Jade, and Anne were known to step with a spring in their feet and every so often when they would meet at corner, there would be a little squeal of delight and a hug. Adelaide was disgusted by the enthusiasm shown for her brother. She would attempt to dampen their spirits, but not even the sometimes melancholic Jadelyn would let Adelaide get in the way of the general feeling of love that ran through the household. Finally the attitude became too much and Jade threatened to move all of Adelaide’s possessions to various places on the property if she did not shut up. The house grew full of energy as they began to clean every room until it sparkled. Nigel would not let anyone but himself into Severus' old room to dust- he did it himself as a way to show his happiness. Angel was hyper as she cleaned her room. The bedrooms were done by noon and that afternoon and evening they finished the library, the bathroom, the dining room, and the entry hall. The next morning everyone arose early, except Adelaide, to finish before Severus arrived. Angel set to work in the conservatory while Anne tidied the porch and then the living room with Nigel. Jade was mopping the kitchen and every so often Angel would bound through the house singing, "Uncle Severus is coming home! Home, home, home! Uncle Severus is coming home!" Anne laughed and would then guide Angel back to work. After finishing the sitting room, Anne went to find Jade. She found Jade dressed like a scullery maid, with a brown dress with no sleeves, a cream half-apron, and a kerchief holding her hair back: she and Angel matched nearly perfectly, except that Angel's dress was emerald. Anne smoothed her white half-apron against her black tank dress and adjusted her kerchief, "Jade-I am going to make sure that everything is set upstairs- call if Angel sees him coming!"

Anne made her way to the library and drew open the deep red curtains to let the morning light beam in. She noticed that at the front of the house side of the library there was a door that, as far as Anne knew, had never been open. She wondered if they should have cleaned there as she pushed it in. She found herself in a slightly dusty sewing room with tailor's mannequins lined along the right wall and windows that looked out onto the front lawn on the other. She recognized the script that labelled each mannequin with a name- this had been Nigel's wife's room. The mannequin labelled 'Vanessa' was wearing a lovely yet simple off the shoulder white dress; the one labelled 'Adelaide' was clothed in an unfinished black skirt embroidered with brightly coloured flowers up one side; the one labelled 'Nigel' was wearing pyjamas; the one for 'Robert' wore a trench-coat covered in logo patches- some were sewn on, others were held there with straight-pins. The last mannequin was for 'Severus' and it was wearing a beautiful black velvet cloak. Anne saw that the emerald lining was unfinished and held in only by pins. She opened the door on the opposite end from her entry and stepped into a room of the same dimensions as the library, the windows covered my heavy black drapes. There was a ladder propped up by the door leading up to a Slytherin house crest above the door. Anne crossed the dusty floor and climbed the ladder, only to find that the crest could be easily swung outward to reveal hidden attic space above the bedrooms. Anne closed the crest-door and quitted the room to the sewing area- she would inquire later to the purpose of that room. She looked outside to see a figure in black coming up the walk. She dusted off her feet so she would not slip and ran as fast as she could to the library. She quickly closed the door to the sewing room and ran as fast as she could downstairs as Angel called out, "Uncle Severus is coming, Uncle Severus is coming! Come on, Mum, can't you move any faster?" Anne jumped down the last few steps as Adelaide looked through the peephole on the front door, "Yeah, it’s him." Anne called to her, "Open the door!" Adelaide turned to her, "When Hell freezes over." Anne grinned, "Back in Michigan it does every year." Adelaide looked puzzled. Anne sighed, "Oh, just shove over!" and she pushed Adelaide out of the way and opened the door. Severus stood there with an apprehensive look on his face. Anne smiled warmly, "Welcome home." He stepped inside the door and levitated his trunks just inside the door. He stiffly nodded to Anne, "Hello, Annelise." Jade was heard tripping over her bucket of mop water in the kitchen, "Ah crap...oh well," and then seen sliding and slipping out of the kitchen on the water that had spread all over the floor, "Uncle Severus!" Her enthusiastic greeting was interrupted by an emerald and red blur that flew from the conservatory and into Severus' arms, "Uncle Severus!" Angel shouted as he lifted her off the floor, she hugged him tight, "We are so excited!!! Mum hasn't stopped dancing and neither has Jade since you said you would come! Wow- I am so happy!!" She gave him a peck on the cheek as he lowered her to the ground. Jade hugged him quickly as Nigel came in from the living room, "Severus!" Severus froze- Anne could see the tension in his shoulders at the sight of his father. She watched as Nigel stood before his son, "Severus...welcome home, my prodigal son. What a wonderful present for my birthday today." Nigel gathered his son in his arms and Severus relaxed a little to return the embrace. He nearly smiled, "Its good to see you too, Father." Adelaide, who had been watching from against the wall that was shared with the living room, was less than pleased to see her older brother, "I cannot believe this- a warm welcome for **_that_**! What the hell! -after all he's done!" There should have been an awkward silence as Severus' shoulders hunched like that of a threatened cat. Anne moved close to him and gently rested her hand on his back- the half second that it took for her to perform this little act of kindness was all that it took for Nigel to react, " ** _ADELAIDE MORRIGHAN SNAPE_**! You will leave immediately if you cannot keep your mouth **_SHUT_**! He is your brother." Adelaide’s eyes were burning, "My _only_ brother, thanks to himself!" Nigel paused and spoke in a low, deadly voice, "Leave- that is behind us now." She snapped back, "Not to me." as she turned and stormed out the front door. Severus' head was spinning, _"I should have never come back here..."_ he thought- then he noticed Anne gently bringing her hand from on his back to his shoulder. She squeezed it and smiled kindly at him. Nigel turned to Severus, "Why don't you two head upstairs and unpack? Don't worry about Adelaide; she is a little bitch some days...." Jade, who had her protective arms around Angel because of the tirade, smiled as they passed. Angel was glaring at the door and whispered to Jade as they passed, "Someday she's going to get what is coming to her, and somehow we are going to be involved in it.” As Anne and Severus levitated the trunks up the staircase, Nigel shout after them, "Take your old room- everything is where it should be!"

Anne followed Severus down the hallway to the room that, upon her arrival, had been the only one not designated to a purpose. She felt that the tension from the encounter with Adelaide downstairs was melting off. Severus opened the door to his room and stood there in the doorframe for a moment just staring at the room in front of him. He entered the room and left his trunk at the foot of the bed. Anne followed suit. To her surprise, the room was not done entirely in black. The beige walls were bare except that above the bed was multi-picture frame with photographs of two women in it. Anne walked over and found herself looking at pictures of who she knew had to be Vanessa and Severus' mother. Anne watched him as he began to look at the things on his dresser for the first time in so many years. She shut the door- who knew what memories might surface as Severus rediscovered his past? Severus picked up a portrait that Anne could see was the family at a much earlier date. He sighed painfully and set the frame down again. Anne walked to behind him and gave his shoulders a squeeze. He turned so that he could peer at her over his shoulder and then a little farther. Severus placed his arm around her waist and pulled her beside him. She smiled at him and spoke, "I know that this must be difficult for you, but you have to remember that you are not alone. I apologize for Adelaide’s behaviour- it was completely uncalled for." He still had not met her gaze but for a brief moment before he had brought her to his side, "It's alright." She shook her head and gazed at the family picture, "No, its not- that kind of behaviour is not acceptable in any situation- my goodness, Angel doesn't even behave like that! Anyway, Nigel has not stopped anticipating this for the entire time since I mentioned it a back in July." Severus still did not face her. Anne instinctively let her hand rise to turn his chin toward her. After she did, their eyes locked. She gently brushed a fallen lock of hair from his cheek. He reached up and caught her wrist as her hand drifted from his face, "Anne?" She smiled, "Yes?" "Thank you." She tilted her head slightly, "For what?" "For bringing me home, letting me be, keeping my secrets- really for giving me just a little bit of hope." Anne laughed lightly, "Isn't that what friends are _for_?" He smiled softly and gathered her in his arms, "Yes."

That night at dinner, Nigel enlisted Adelaide’s help to set the dining room table. She was less than pleased, "Why do we have to come in here for dinner? We never use this room!" Nigel began to place stemmed glasses at each of the spots, "We are all together again- the entire family will eat in the dining hall to celebrate." She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, "But it's **_not_** the entire family." Nigel stopped in front of her, "It is all we have and you will act thankful for it whether you like it or not." She huffed, "All this fuss for **_him_** ," and rolled her eyes in disgust. Nigel glared at her, "Remember what I told you earlier?" She let her arms fall to her side and sighed in temporary resignation, "Yes sir." He nodded, "Good." At that moment Jade and Angel began to bring dishes of steaming food in from the kitchen. They were laughing, "Ang- I guess that it is a good thing that Nigel kept that record book!" Angel laughed, "Yeah, Nigel- thanks for keeping track of what your kids liked for dinner- the book was a wonderful help!" Jade set a big pan of pasta on the table, "Amen to that, sister! How else would we have known that Severus' favourite dinner was either baked fish-" "-or Fettuccini Alfredo, cheesy potatoes, garden salad, sparkling water with a twist of lemon, various teas, and cheesecake to follow it all up!" Angel listed. Jade helped Angel set the salad on the table and the two girls went off to get more of the dishes. After they had completed their task, Jade did a little dance, "Oh, this is going to be so wonderful! Ang- join me in the 'Jade and Angel happy dance'!" Nigel laughed heartily as the two girls did their little dance, "I am glad that you share in the enthusiasm! Angel, why don't run up and bring Anne and Severus down for dinner." Angel scampered off as Jade whirled around to face her mother, "If you say one thing about his past at dinner and I swear that I will find some way to make you pay- a snake in your bed will be the least of your worries." "You wouldn't dare," Adelaide spat back. Jade had a retort ready, "What are you going to do, call my father?" Nigel stepped in, "Jade, calm down- I will deal with Adelaide when and if the time comes." Jade took a deep breath, "Sorry, sir." Nigel smiled again as he heard giggling from the stairs, "Take your seats- I think that I hear Angel coming."

Angel bounced down the stairs ahead of Anne and Severus chattering happily, "...so then I casted that one spell that makes me have control over someone and made that mean old idiot sing 'Baby one more time' by Brittney Spears- in platform shoes and that awful girly pink robes and with his fingernails painted with little daisies. It was awesome!" Anne laughed and squeezed Severus' hand, "I wish we could really make Voldemort sing Spears...that would be so funny- especially if we could get him to wear pink too!" Angel bounced ahead of them and then turned to face her mother, "Oh, stop your jabbering and keep up- I'm hungry!" Anne laughed a little more and followed her daughter into the dining room where the rest of the family was waiting for them. Nigel gestured for them to sit. Angel plopped down by Jade and pointed to the chair next to her, "Mum, you sit here- Severus, next to her, and that way then you are by Nigel too, and Nigel is by Adelaide, and then Adelaide is by Jade, and since I went counter-clockwise there, it all comes back to Jade sitting by me! You know, Jade and me, we made the whole dinner- cool, huh? We found cookbooks and Jade taught me how to cook stuff without setting it on fire or burning it- isn't that awesome, Mum?" Anne smiled, "Wonderful Angel- perhaps some night you will have to make dinner for me when we go back to Hogwarts this year- wouldn't that be special?" Angel nodded happily. Nigel motioned for everyone to hold hands as he said a blessing on the meal, "Lord, we thank you this day for bringing us the bounty before us and the many blessings in the forms of all those who gather here. I thank you for bringing my son home to me this day, a beautiful and wonderful gift of healing. I thank you for Annelise who conjured up the courage to tell me her story and to suggest this reunion; I thank you for Angelique who has brought laughter back into our lives; I thank you for Jadelyn and Adelaide, my ever present children and for the wonderful work Jadelyn has done in bringing Annelise and Angelique into our presence. I ask, Lord, that you continue to bless us in wonderful and mysterious ways. Amen." Anne gave Angel and Severus' hands a squeeze before breaking the link, as she used to do with her own family long before she had even come to Britain. They began to pass the dishes around the table, filling their plates with all the wonderful things that Jade and Angel had cooked. Jade asked Severus if he liked their work and he gave each of the cooks a little almost-smile and thanked them for their toil in the kitchen, "You ladies did perfect work," he said. The cooks beamed all the rest of the evening.

Throughout the meal, everyone but Adelaide chatted lightly about their little misadventures of the past year. Angel mentioned the Eddwords incident, and all attention fell to her, "We were minding our own lives perfectly when that creep showed up- he started slamming Mum and Uncle Severus right and left and spreading perfectly awful rumours- so we decided to pay him back- LeFay/Schetzek/Riddle style. Jade stiffened him up real good and we shoved him in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom- she's a ghost. Man, was he ever mad- but we did it again to him when me and the inseparable trio- that was after he was saying mean things to Mum and Uncle Severus in the halls- we spooked him and he fell down the stairs and knocked himself out, so we repeated the whole thing with the bathroom and all. That wasn't the end, though. I heard that he was the cause of the accident in the Potions lab that sparked the first bathroom incident, although Mum never told me for sure..." she turned to Anne for confirmation. Anne nodded, "Back up a bit- I can tell about that. I heard a massive explosion and rushed over to the lab and found that everyone was a bit shaken up- I let out the class and looked for Severus. As I was helping him up, the door opened and we hid under the desk- the intruder was Eddwords, and he was gloating about how Severus was dead. Then Albus came into the room and kicked Eddwords out. Some of the students became fond of backstabbing at that time, but the really conscientious students knew that something was amiss. Thankfully, they kept the situation under control." Jade grinned, "Then there was the duelling club. This was after the second bathroom incident. Eddwords decided to restart the duelling club that had so miserably failed a few years ago. First he and Severus duelled- Eddwords went down fast. Then Eddwords saw Anne's joy at this and challenged him with the condition that the winner would get to duel any staff member of their choice. Anne did not even use her wand- she just caught the spell he cast at her and pitched one of her own back to him- essentially she glued him to the wall and he was stuck there. Then she challenged Severus. She used her wand this time and they duelled for five minutes without any real big effects- lots of blocking and a little fire and all that jazz. Then Anne cast her wall-stick spell and Severus returned it to her with twice the magnitude. She ended up on the wall and upside-down." Angel started the next part of the story, "The last straw came when Anne had to sit in Eddwords' class to observe and he ripped on her and Uncle Severus the entire time. That was it, something had to be done. Mum- take it from here, you never gave me many details from this." Anne smiled at Severus, "Severus went to try and talk to Eddwords and I played the spy so that I could report the entire thing to Albus as a witness. Within seconds Eddwords exploded and I entered the room telling him to calm down. Both men told me to leave- Eddwords said it was no concern of mine and Severus did not wish for me to end up injured. I said no, and Eddwords slammed Severus into a wall so quickly that I really couldn't see what had happened- he was so fast. I got ticked off. I hovered him off the floor and threw him through the window. I stopped him a few inches before he would have spattered on the ground and then let him fall the last few inches. That was really the end of everything. He felt no remorse." Nigel nodded, "Nice work there, everyone, nice. You should have tried to have him fall into briars though." Angel grinned, "I wish." Jade laughed, "Or the 'Exploding Infernal Eye'- I used that against Draco Malfoy and ended up with detention, but it was worth it beyond all things." Adelaide was confused. Nigel did not bother to explain, "Good work, Jade! Very good! You girls make me proud." Angel grinned at Jade, “Yup, we’re regular Charlie’s Angles, aren’t we?” Jade gave Angel and Anne a Cheshire cat grin, “When we get back to school, I am so going to start leaving little ’C. A.’ initiallings at every site I work on…” After a few more minutes of jovial chatting over the values of pranking the Malfoys, Adelaide up and left the table. Severus followed her exit with his gaze. Angel and Jade continued to conspire with Nigel on their upcoming year at Hogwarts and what they could do to keep from getting caught by anyone, except Anne and Severus, both of whom seemed to be supportive of the conspiracy.

At the end of their discussions, Anne took Angel up to bed. Angel grinned as her mother tucked her into bed, "So, have I won our bet?" Anne shook her head, "Nope." Angel snapped her fingers, "Blast!" Anne laughed, "You just be patient- you will know if you do." Angel sighed, "'Night, Mum." Anne turned out the light and closed the door, "'Night, babe."

Anne smiled as the door clicked shut. She stood there for a moment, letting her love for her daughter hold the image of her sleeping rest in her mind. She felt a presence behind her and heard the carpet-muffled footfalls of someone approaching. She turned, "Oh- Severus- I was just coming to talk to you." He nodded, "Come to my room and we can talk." Anne nodded, "O.K.- I like that idea." They sat on his bed and she shrugged, "How was today? Adelaide was a pain, but besides that- any thoughts on your first day home?" He pulled out a chess set, "Play?" she nodded, "Well then, set up while I talk." Anne nodded again and began to set up the game. The little figures moved to centre themselves as Anne set them on the board. He spoke, "It was an odd day. I was glad to see Angelique, Jadelyn, and yourself, but I was apprehensive about Nigel. I knew that Adelaide would be trouble. I knew that she would be hostile. After our talk, I felt better about Nigel. Adelaide was still a problem. I still want her to just leave. Dinner was nice- I wonder how the girls knew what I liked...anyhow, it made having to sit at the table with Adelaide easier. Are you finished setting up yet?" Anne smiled, "Yeah- I don't think that I have ever played wizard's chess. Can you teach me?" He let a small grin creep across his face, "Of course I can." They played chess through the night until Anne stumbled to bed just past three in the morning, " _Well, that was nice- I think that I can deal with Adelaide the rest of the summer if Severus keeps me company in the evenings...._ " Anne fell into bed in the dress she had worked all morning in. The day had been long, but it had been wonderful.

The next day, Anne slept until noon and discovered, to her delight, that Severus had also slept in. She did not feel guilty anymore about having left Severus at the mercy of Jade and Angel over the morning- by sleeping in he would have avoided the hyperactive enthusiastic questioning and prodding of Angelique and the bitching of Adelaide. Jade was quiet enough that she would not have tried to bother her Uncle. Anne stretched and headed for the shower. She freshened up and dressed in a simple red flowing skirt and a spaghetti strap tank-top, ready to take on the day. She went to seek out Severus; the footlocker that Nigel had not wanted the girls to open when they had revealed their treasures from the barn was waiting to be opened. Anne found him in his room reading, "Knock knock- can I come in?" He turned to her from the bed where he had been sitting straight, "Indeed." Anne smiled, without his flowing robes overtop of his blacks, Severus looked as though he could have stepped out of some book- a book that would have had at least one fencing sequence. She stood just inside the door, "Do you want to come to the library with me? There is something that the girls found that you may have an interest in." Severus nodded, "I believe that I know of what you speak. Yes, I would love to come and see what you have to show me, as long as it's quiet." She laughed, "Of course." He set his book down and followed her to the library. Anne tilted her head, "What were you reading? You seemed quite involved in it." He held the library door for her, "I was reading **_Macbeth_**. I have read it before, but I have not read that copy with my notes in it from age sixteen since before I was, er, kicked out of the house? -anyhow, I thought that it would be interesting to see what had changed in the impact the book had on my life since then. I found the differences quite striking and quite intriguing." Anne settled down into one of the red velvet upholstered chairs after she pulled the footlocker between her chair and the chair beside her. Severus settled into the chair beside Anne and very slowly reached out and brushed the edge of the footlocker. Anne watched him as he became lost in thought and memory. She very slowly lifted the lid of the footlocker and pulled out one of the top texts and read the inscription, _"Severus, your love of Romanticism is wonderful, may it follow you all of your days. Love, Mother."_ Anne handed the book to Severus, "The girls went on an expedition to the barn and discovered something that had belonged to each of you Snape children- and Nigel too. They found a disco ball of Adelaide’s that is now in Angel's room, an electrical guitar that Jade loves that belonged to Vanessa, tin toys, antique tools, an L.P. of Robert's, and this footlocker of yours. I thought that you might like to have it back and in your room." He nodded, "Thank you." he slid from his chair and kneeled beside the footlocker, "Come- look at these with me- some of them are quite rare, and others, like the one that you read the inscription from, are copies. My mother wrote that one out in her spare time. Here- this one is a first edition of Mary Shelley's **_Frankenstein_**. Here is a second edition Byron, and this one is a copy made by a friend of my father's of Wordsworth and Coleridge's **_Lyrical Ballads_**. Dig in- see what you can find- I haven't seen these since before I was disowned- I love the discovery of all this." He sighed and shook his head, "Memory is wonderful when it is happy, don't you agree?" Anne nodded and gently lifted one of the texts out of the box. She opened the cover to find that she was handling a signed first copy of William Blake's **_Jerusalem_**. She gasped, "Severus- do you know how valuable this is? My goodness, to a Blake follower, this thing is a treasure that I would never think that I should be handling. It is a lost copy...and signed...I think that I am going to tip over...!" He smiled, "That one was given to me by my great aunt when I was very young. At that time, I just thought that the pictures were pretty, not until I was near sixteen did I realize what it really was." They dug through the footlocker until Anne had seen every book therein and gasped a thousand times for each beautiful book she was either handed or she pulled out herself. Anne was amazed at all the priceless texts around her. She continually returned to a collection of original drafts of the poetry of William Butler Yeats, "This is astounding- and here is that poem that Angel and I love-

_Where dips the rocky highland_  
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,  
There lies a leafy island  
Where flapping herons wake  
The drowsy water- rats;  
There we've hid our faery vats,  
Full of berries  
And of reddest stolen cherries.  
  
Come away, O human child!  
To the waters and the wild  
With a faery, hand in hand,  
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.  
  
Where the wave of moonlight glosses  
The dim grey sands with light,  
Far off by furthest Rosses  
We foot it all the night,  
Weaving olden dances,  
Mingling hands and mingling glances  
Till the moon has taken flight;  
To and fro we leap  
And chase the frothy bubbles,  
While the world is full of troubles  
And is anxious in its sleep.  
  
Come away, O human child!  
To the waters and the wild  
With a faery, hand in hand,  
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.  
  
Where the wandering water gushes  
From the hills above Glen-Car,  
In pools among the rushes  
That scarce could bathe a star,  
We seek for slumbering trout  
And whispering in their ears  
Give them unquiet dreams;  
Leaning softly out  
From ferns that drop their tears  
Over the young streams.  
  
Come away, O human child!  
To the waters and the wild  
With a faery, hand in hand,  
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.  
  
Away with us he's going,  
The solemn-eyed:  
He'll hear no more the lowing  
Of the calves on the warm hillside  
Or the kettle on the hob  
Sing peace into his breast,  
Or see the brown mice bob  
Round and round the oatmeal-chest.  
  
For he comes, the human child,  
To the waters and the wild  
With a faery, hand in hand,  
From a world more full of weeping than he can understand.

I used to sing this to her while we were running...and this one here, **_The Two Trees_** , we read this one together while we were sitting in the woods awaiting a lady to take us into hiding in her home...the memories are indeed wonderful whey they are beautiful...." Her words tapered off as she gently turned the pages of the manuscript. He sighed and then watched her finger the leaves of paper as though they were sacred, "Anne- keep them." She froze, "What?" He smiled, "Keep them- those pages mean more to you than they ever did or ever will to me. They are yours." She protested, "I could never- these are yours though- I...you...really?" He nodded with a glimmer in his eyes, "Yes, really." Anne slipped the papers back into the folio folder that she had found them in and, after setting them on the chair and walking over to sit beside Severus, gave him an ever-grateful hug, "Thank you a thousand times and beyond words that exist." He returned the embrace, "What less could I do for someone who has done so much for me?"

The day passed quickly for Anne and before she knew it, she was waiting for Severus to meet her in the library after she had put Angel to bed. Once again they spent the night together, this time reading poetry to one another from the books they had sorted the night before. 

The next day, Nigel rose at breakfast to announce a surprising bit of news- at least for Angel and Anne, "Each year I attend the Annual Wizarding Convention and Ball in Belfast. It falls this weekend and I would like all of you to accompany me. We will leave Friday mid-day and arrive Saturday morning. The convention takes place all that day and is capped off by a gala ball that evening. On Sunday we will travel home. It is tradition that all wizards arrive at this event via Muggle transportation, so we will be travelling by train and ferry. This weekend will be quite fun, if," he glared at Adelaide, "we can all keep our tempers." Angel was bouncing in her seat, "Wow! We get to go to Belfast! Mum- did you hear that- we get to go back to Ireland- I'm gonna be going back to the Motherland!" Anne laughed. The trip would be wonderful, as long as Adelaide did not ruin it with snide remarks. After breakfast, Anne, Jade, Angel, Nigel, and Severus all dug into the old tin toys that had come from the barn. From trick banks to wind up toys, all the things in the chest fascinated Angel. Nigel let her take the toys in her room- what better use was there for them?

After they had situated the toys in Angel's room, Anne found the antique tools and pulled out a few pieces. She escaped by herself to the barn and set her choices on the floor of the balcony. She went out behind the barn and found a few fallen sticks that she deemed the proper size and brought them back inside. She set to work cutting and sanding the sticks to create the sides for a tiny box. She nailed the perfectly flat edges as the insides of the box, with only the bottom of the box being flat both in and out. The outer sides of the box were left as nature intended so that the sides still were covered in the bark of the tree. Anne smiled at her work. It was not perfect, but it would serve her purpose. She looked out the window to find that the sun was already fading in the evening sky. She sighed and pulled a lock of her hair from under what she called the mop on her head. She clipped it off from the base of her skull, wound it into a little spiral no bigger than her thumb, and slipped it into the box. She fitted the little lid on it tightly and smiled. There, perfect.

That evening after dinner, Anne once again met Severus in the library. She settled by the fireplace and waited for him to do the same. After a few moments of silence, he shrugged, "So, what are we doing this evening?" Anne sighed, "First I am giving you this," and brought out the little box that she had taken so much time in crafting. He tilted his head with curiosity as he opened the lid and peered within. She explained herself, "It is a tradition that Angel brought to my attention. She told me that long ago a lass would give someone that she cared about a lock of her hair. I thought that since you are the closest friend that I have that I would continue this tradition for you." He smiled, "Thank you, Anne." She grinned, "So...want to tell stories tonight? I have a few good ones that I could tell." He nodded, so she began to weave her magical tale, "This one is a story that I wrote while I was still in the States- I was a dancer and I got sick of the egomaniacs that I ran into every once in a while.

_Lottie was a dancer, but not just any dancer- Lottie was a prima ballerina with an ego too big for the stages she danced on. Lottie was good, the only problem was that she danced like she knew it and was often compared to Michael Flattley. The other dancers in the company were all getting sick of Lottie's attention getting antics and many of them believed that if they could just get her in a situation where they could talk to her, then they may be able to bring her down to their level. One day her friend Tristan, the company stage manager, decided to give it a shot and to try to share the stage with the other dancers. His attempts failed miserably. Try as they may, their efforts to bring Lottie to Earth were fruitless and the company then moved on to trying to convince her that if she could not share the stage she would have a great ill befall her. The day of the recital came, and all the dancers sighed. Surely this would be like every other year when only Lottie would be noticed on the stage. They were getting sick of being ignored. The curtain rose and there was Lottie, centre stage. The music began, but alas, the lights were half a second late! After her performance, Lottie snatched the headset from Tristan's hands and yelled at the techies on the other end. She threw the headset at Tristan and he gave up then on the idea of attempting to calm her down. Tristan went back to stage managing and Lottie went to change for her next act. The next time Lottie went on stage, everyone held their breath. The lights drifted up perfectly with Lottie's music and she smiled haughtily. Halfway through the song, Toccata and Fugue in D-minor drifted over top of her music. Lottie looked displeased, but the audience did not see her expression for long. The auditorium was suddenly plunged in to darkness and everyone heard Lottie swearing violently on the stage. That did not last long either. With a resounding crash, all went silent. A murmur ran through the crowd as the lights slowly faded up. A 40-throw LEKO light lay on the stage in pieces, with Lottie under it. The dancers cheered. Tristan threw off his headset as all the techies on the other end erupted into massive elated laughter. He ran to get the mop and broom and he went to clean up the mess on the stage. The show went happily on, with everyone in better spirits than when they had begun. At the end of the show there was a huge cheer and for years to come it became company legend. Young dancers were warned about the fate of Lottie and everyone developed a healthy respect for the techies."_

Severus found himself laughing at the antics that accompanied the tale just as much as he was laughing at the strange story itself, "Alright- now it is my turn. This story is one that I have been trying to tell for ages, but due to my position, I have had no one to tell it to. At long last it comes forth.

_Long ago in London there lived a lad of incredible creativity and genius. The oddity about this boy was his lack of sight. He painted wonderful scenes of angels and forests, fairies and dragons without ever having seen any of these things within his life. He told the world that he saw visions, bright and beautiful, of all the things that flew from his paintbrush onto his canvas. Years passed and the boy found himself meeting a great many admirers, both commoner and famed, none of them ever asking him how his visions came about or having any concern for him, rather they were more interested in why he did not sell the paintings that cluttered the apartment. He told each one of the inquirers, "I cannot see this day and I cannot tell you what each picture means to another, but I can tell you that I can see each of these by the patterns the raised paint dries into that I feel when I run my hands across it. I cannot see them with my eyes, I can see them with my hands and I can appreciate the scenes for the labour of love that each canvas holds. I cannot sell the only links that I have to what lies outside my door." The visitors left spellbound, wondering how one could see with their hands. One day the boy found himself speaking to another who did not have the gift of sight- she had lost it as a child. She tried to see the pictures with her hands, but found that she could not decode the brushstrokes as the artist could. This time it was the boy who was spellbound. He could not understand the complete lack of sight that this girl possessed. He prayed to understand her predicament. Years passed and he still did not comprehend the girl. As he grew older he found that the utter blackness of his blindness was fading into grey, then into colour and light, until one day he found that he could make out the shapes of things around his flat. He had changed so much that a year later he found that he could see all that was around him, including his art. He travelled to many places, seeing all that he could for the first time. He tried to paint it, but found that he could not make the thinks in front of him fall onto the canvas. He understood why the girl could not see with her hands- her knowledge of what things should look like based on what her eyes had told her had created a blockade that dimmed her mind's eye so far that she could not envision with it, only with her physical eyes. The boy now grown sighed, the world he saw before him was vivid, but he would leave painting that to those who could see all their life, but did not see from within. He would paint the other world- it was far more interesting anyway."_

Anne smiled, "Angel would like that story- you should tell it to her some time." They continued trading tales until midnight when Anne announced that she was exhausted beyond any doubt. They departed with a brief hug and went off to their respective rooms, each one's head swimming with the stories of the other.

The next day, Anne decided to satisfy her curiosity of the large, empty room with the Slytherin house crest. After lunch she asked Severus to meet her in the library, "During my cleaning I nosed into a few places that I probably shouldn't have, the room beyond being one of them." She led him into the sewing room and she leaned on the window ledge. He closed the door after him, "Mother's workshop...I remember this place well...." His voice was distant, his eyes not focusing on what was in the room they occupied, rather on the door at the far end. Anne noticed and rose, walking toward the door to the empty room, "Severus, do you remember this room?" He shook his head, "Please Anne- not now," he placed his hand on her shoulder to hold her back. She stayed facing the door, "Then when?" He continued to resist, not with anger, but uncomfortably, "Annelise, no..." She turned on him abruptly, snapping as she spoke, "Then when?!" she instantly regretted her display of impatience at the sight of his expression, "Severus, I didn't mean...I'm sorry, I-" He broke into her apologies with a brush of his fingertips across her lips to silence her, "You're right. Open the door." She swallowed hard, "If you're not ready..." He smiled, "I am." She turned back to the door and slowly pushed it open. She entered into the darkened room reverently, waiting for him to follow. He closed the door behind him, leaving them in the enveloping blackness of the empty room. Anne stood perfectly still. She heard Severus mutter something under his breath and the great iron chandelier that hung from the centre of the ceiling illuminated, lighting the entire room with a dim yellow light. Anne looked around her at the coat of dust covering everything and the cobwebs that drifted from the chandelier, "What is this place?" He answered her question as she noticed a track-work coming from the crest-door and wrapping around the room to a reachable level on the opposite wall, "This...was my laboratory." Anne nodded, "What was the track for?" His eyes followed the track as hers had done moments earlier, "Let me show you." With a wave of his wand and a few muttered words, the crest-door opened up and a huge half-cylindrical copper vat made its way across the edge of the room and settled against the far wall, "This was my mixing basin- it used to come to rest over an open burner- it appears that Nigel has removed everything else in here that I once used." Anne shrugged, "I really can't say that I blame him." Severus moved toward the vat, "Me neither- do you want to see the attic space? I think that you will appreciate that which I hid up there so many years ago- if it is still there, that is." Anne smiled, "Sure." She followed him up the ladder. He stood in the frame, "Here," he offered her his hand and she accepted, "'Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'" She met his gaze, " ** _Ozymandias_**." He nodded, "Shelley." She continued, "Of the Percy variety," she ventured into the room as he watched her every move. She pulled a lighter out of the folds of her dress and flicked it on. Severus hit a light switch, "The lab is the only room in the house without electricity." She extinguished the lighter and starred at the draped objects around her, "Severus- what are these?" He motioned toward the centre of the room, "Go ahead- unveil something." She pulled a cover off what appeared to be an easel to find an oil painting portrait of a lady, "Wow...this is beautiful. Who is she?" She noticed immediately after she has spoken that his eyes were cast to the floor, echoing with humility, "Severus- you painted these?" He shrugged, "It was a hobby- but don't bother with that one for long- here, try another one." He covered up the lady and unveiled a Gothic castle, "Or here, look at this one..." and he unveiled a violent storm, "but not her." Anne tilted her head, "Who was she?" He tried to brush off her comment, "Just a girl I knew long ago. Never mind her." Anne nodded, "These are beautiful- could you paint something for my classroom or my chamber someday?" He looked stunned, "You really want me to? Well, I'm sure that I could...what do you want?" She shrugged, "I don't know- surprise me- think of something to suit my personality. I will love whatever you paint, I am sure." He fidgeted with the edge of one of the drape covers, "Um, someday, perhaps next year over Christmas break, I...I would like it if you would sit for a portrait." Anne was delighted, "Oh! O.K." He continued with a slight stammer, "I mean...if you would even want to- really, you don't have to...if you don't want to..." Anne realized that he was a bit nervous- perhaps feeling like she only agreed because she feared hurting him. She took his hands in hers, "Severus, hush, I would love to sit for a portrait. It would be an honour." He sighed and smiled ever so slightly, "Thank you, Anne." She shrugged, "No problem." They spent the rest of the afternoon discovering all the wonderful artwork the attic housed. At the end of the day he stood in the midst of it all and spread his arms wide, "There you have it- my hobby." She gazed on the beauty around her, "These are amazing- how about turning the lab into a gallery? We could load the vat up with paintings and bring them all down to the floor and set up everything down there!" He looked at her sceptically, "I don't know about that..." She insisted, "Oh come on, it'll be fun- you have a spectacular talent that is not doing you any good up here- let it out!" He shrugged, "Really though, who would want to see these? The style is archaic, as is most of the subject matter." She stood there with her hands on her hips, "Seriously- everyone here but Adelaide would love to see these- Angel is going to flip when she finds out you are an artist! If we keep Adelaide from finding out, no worries!" He peered at the Gothic castle, "You honestly think these are worth looking at?" She sat on the floor beside a painting of angels battling in heaven against Lucifer and his minions, "Jade would love the darkness that pervades through some of these- the sublimity of them. Angel would love to try and figure out why each was created; Nigel would love them simply because it was you who created them. If Vanessa were around, she would be proud that her little brother shared his gift." He sat beside her, "What about yourself?" She let out a little sigh, "I wonder at the emotions behind each, the beauty of the colours and the majesty of the scenes, even the delicate majesty of the garden scenes. I try to relate the pictures to my own experience. That Gothic castle? It reminds me of Victor Frankenstein, the brilliance of his mind, yet the destructive power that he inadvertently releases. The storm makes me think of the gale that Angel and I watched just before we left Éire," she pointed to the corner of the room, "The old cemetery painting that is somewhere over there- I can almost feel as though I am there and those graves are of my Jon and my sister. I can feel an enveloping cloak of darkness over the scene. That painting you showed me of the Sildhe's interior was marvellously rich in colour, vibrant with life and wonder- Angel will love that- I can remember walking between two colliding Sildhe in Éire. It was wonderful. I relate to these pictures; they are amazing." He shrugged again, "Thank you- would you like to build this gallery tomorrow?" She grinned, "Of course!" They clamoured down the ladder and he headed to the main door of the room over which the crest-door hung, "The castle that reminded you of Frankenstein?" She nodded, "Yes?" He turned back to her, "My middle name is Victor," and left Anne standing by herself in the centre of the room. She smiled to herself _, "And oddly enough, you are similar to my perception of the character...."_

She quitted the room to the sewing room and sat down at the old machine, " _Nigel said I could work on these projects...I wonder what to do first?"_ She pulled Robert's trench coat over to the workspace. She would start simple- logo patches would surely get her back into practice!

The next day, Anne and Severus set to work early in the morning, bringing the artwork down from the attic space by filling the copper vat with paintings and Anne and sending it down the track. Anne unloaded the work, climbed back in, and she in the vat rose back up to the attic. By the end of the day they had set all of the artwork on easels or hung it on the walls. Anne was amazed by not only the number of paintings, but the variety of the topics they covered. After dinner, Severus and Anne rose to address the family, "Severus and I have worked hard all day to bring you all a wonderful surprise- if you will please follow us upstairs at this time, we will unveil our work." Angel bounded after Anne and Severus and wedged herself between them, "Mum? Where were you all day today?" Severus answered for Anne, "Patience, child- you will see in a moment." Severus opened the main door to the newly built gallery and held it for Anne, Angel, Jade, and Nigel. Adelaide had disappeared for the day. Anne stood between the family and a curtain that Severus and she had rigged up, waiting for him to join her. As soon as he did, she took his hand and spoke, "Severus and I have put a lot of time into setting this up today, but as I understand it, he put at least seven years into the nearly one-hundred pieces that you are about to see. We both hope that what is behind this curtain will make you think. Thank you." With that, Severus pulled the draw cord and the curtain parted in the middle and was gathered up to frame the room beyond as a window into Severus' soul. Anne stepped aside as Angel first stepped yonder into the gallery in awe. Jade followed, her eyes pulling her through the gallery. Nigel was last to enter into his son's record of emotion and creativity. The room was arranged chronologically from Severus' first year at Hogwarts when he began his painting all the way through his seventh year when the Dark Arts had taken their hold. Anne stood with him at the edge of the room, "So...do you want to stay and watch reactions or do you want to escape?" He sighed, "To the library?" She shrugged, "I was thinking outside- after all, we passed up the opportunity during the day, and the evening air is warm. We could wander around the gardens or out to the barn, or to the wildflower field- whatever you want." He nodded and spoke in a hushed tone, "That sounds like a good idea," and they slipped from the room and then the house to the evening beyond. She ran to the wildflowers and waited for him to follow- he did not run. She flopped down amidst the daisies and stared up at the stars. He sat beside her and leaned back on his elbows, "I guess one forgets to look up many days...." Anne smiled, "So often did Angel and I sleep out under the stars in haystacks or in the city streets that some days I just forget how amazing it is just to stare at the universe without having to worry about marauders or how to find breakfast the next morning." He lay down, "What was it like, to live at the mercy of the world?" "It wasn't easy. I had to find ways to feed Angel from offering to help someone for a day in exchange for dinner and a place to sleep to sitting on the street just waiting and praying. Angel would sing, dance, or play the fiddle to attract attention, I would offer to play piano at a pub or so, but we never begged. Angel and I are both too proud to beg- not to ask, but to beg. We ate well once a month, if that, but we loved it once we were out of the city and in the country. We fancied that we were wandering minstrels trying to find a lord or lady who would employ our services for a little while. Angel would say that we were Maid Marrion and her lady-in-waiting Sarah on our way to meet Robin Hood. We would sleep at the base of a tree, within its branches, in haystacks, or wherever we happened to be when dusk fell. We travelled from little town to little town, finding that the country people were so much kinder than the city folks. If I did not have to worry about who was after me, I think that I would have just stayed in the woods for the rest of my life. It was wonderful, and we had to be so creative to survive and we had the best relationship, relying only on one another for company and comfort. That is why she and I are so close- we had to be to stay living at the mercy of the elements." He let stillness hang in the air for a moment, "I can't imagine living like that, without the stability of a specific home, income, and meal schedule." She turned over on her stomach and plucked a daisy from the earth, "When you have no real choice, there is no doubt in your heart that it will be a hard transition, but I had an idea that I could do it- God would not throw me to the wind without having a plan for me to get through it, and even if He would toss me out there as a trial, I knew that God would not just let a little one such as Angel be at the mercy of nothingness. I think it was nice to not have to worry about money for once- the only thing that I ever worried about was food, after all, as Angel once told me, the ancient Celts wandered the lands, sleeping wherever they lighted before the Anglo-Saxon people drove them to settle on the island. The food issue was only because both she and I are vegetarians, like the Shelley's were." She tucked the daisy in his button hole and sat up. He reached up and tugged on her shoulder, causing her to fall backward into the grass. It did not take long for her to realize how calm and peaceful it was to be outside staring out at the stars with her closest friend at her side. It also did not take her long to drift off to sleep to the cricket song.

The next day Anne awoke in her own bed, wondering how she got there. Angel bounded into her room, "Mum! Guess what...?" Anne smiled as Angel clamoured over Anne and plopped down on the bed. Anne raised an eyebrow, "Kid, I just got up, my brain is still adjusting, what?" Angel pulled her mother up to sit and whispered in her ear, "Mum...I think he likes you." Anne's mind was still foggy as she cleared the sleep from her eyes, "What? Of course he likes me, what are you talking about?" Angel rolled her eyes, "No Mum, I think he _likes_ you...he brought you in here last night and tucked you in- see, you're still wearing your dress from yesterday. Then comes the good part- he kissed you! I know, I was watching, 'cept don't tell him, 'cause he didn't see me at the door." Anne crossed her legs under the covers, "And where did you see him kiss me?" Angel grinned, "He kissed your forehead, like you do to me when you tuck me in. I think that I may be halfway to winning our bet...." Anne sighed, "Angel, please, don't bring that up- if you win, I will be the determinant of the winner, not you." Angel bounded off the bed, "Whatever, I know what I know, and I only invest in safe stocks." Angel vanished out the door. Anne sighed and went to shower. She only had a few hours to pack before they had to leave for Belfast.

Angel insisted that she and Jade had to sit together on the train; Nigel decided to sit by himself, leaving Anne to sit by Severus. She stared out the window without really noticing anything that happened on the train. Angel and Anne enlightened their seatmates with tales of most of the towns that they passed and what sort of things they did there. They crossed to Ireland and continued the trip, arriving in Belfast the next morning for the convention. Angel immediately lost any qualms she may have had about returning to Ireland to find her accent had melted into something more American- once she was amongst her kinfolk she began to resume her native graces. They went to the workshops and scheduled events together, feeling that there was safety in numbers. That evening came the ball.

Anne and Angel got ready together; sharing a room meant having girl time to get dolled up together. Anne helped Angel into her robes, the ones that Anne had given her for Christmas. She pulled Angel's hair back into a ponytail with wisps of her truly Celtic hair framing her face. Angel danced around the room as her mother slipped into the same dress that she had worn that day when the Malfoy's had interrupted her class and spilled her past across the floor. She pulled her black robes with the bell sleeves over top of the dress to hide her Dark Mark and sat down before the dresser mirror to plait her hair into a crown around her head with the extra hair hanging down her back. She and Angel met Jade and Adelaide in the hall. Jade wore a long black dress with deep red embroidered curls bordering the top of the bodice and outlining where the skirt and the bodice were joined. Adelaide looked like she should have been heading to a street corner rather than to a formal ball. Her tight leather strapless dress did not come up far enough on her chest or far enough down past her hips. Her red lipstick and spike heels with straps which wrapped halfway up her legs completed the look. They waited in the hall for the men. Nigel stepped out into the hall in a formal tux, offering to escort his granddaughter to the ball. Severus locked the door behind him and turned to see Anne adjusting the emerald coloured glass and chain belt that Angelique wore under the emerald open front robes over the matching emerald dress. Angel turned to Severus as her mother finished her adjustment, "Hey! Look, I'm Celtic!" He nodded and turned his attention to Anne, "Milady," he offered his arm to her, "Might I have the honour to be your escort?" Anne blushed slightly, "You may escort me, but I doubt there is honour in the task." He shrugged, "There is." She shook her head, "Whatever you say."

They walked the few blocks to the hall, laughing and joshing the entire way. Angel proudly walked in between Nigel, who, with Jade, was leading the party, and Severus, who, with Anne, followed. Adelaide brought up the rear. They entered the hall and found themselves in a beautifully decorated ballroom with chandeliers and candelabra lighting the dancers, most of who were already on the dance floor. Nigel went about his way, Adelaide latched onto the nearest man who was not dancing, while Jade, Anne, Severus, and Angel worked their way to a vacant bench where, as Angel put it, they 'set up camp'. Two hours into the evening and the entire party had been out dancing at least once. Nigel asked Angel if she would mind dancing while Jade scanned the crowd for her former classmates. She found one, but it was the one that she least wanted to see. He approached her, "Well, Miss Riddle, fancy seeing you here." Jade raised an eyebrow, "Draco Malfoy, what a surprise. Where is your harem?" He was slightly taken aback. He shrugged, "I don't have one. Would you care to dance?" It was Jade's turn to be in shock, "Pardon? Did you just ask me to dance?" He nodded. She crossed her arms over her chest, "After the way you treated me last year? I don't know if I should even consider it. Give me one good reason." He stood there a bit uncomfortably, "Um...because I asked nicely..." his eyes glimmered, he had just remembered a bit of Jade's own advice, "and you'll only waste your life away if all you do is stand against the wall and watch it happen to everyone else; now shut up and dance." Jade gave him a grin, she had been beat by her own words, "Fine, you win this time, but I'll get you yet, Draco Malfoy!" Anne watched the two make their way to the heart of the dance floor, wondering what exactly was going on between the two somewhat enemies.

Jade wondered why they were traversing so deep into the crowd, "Draco, why over here?" He dropped his voice to a whisper and glanced around, "So my father doesn't-" Draco never got to finish his sentence, Lucius waltzed by with Adelaide, "Well, well, well, son...you finally got her. Good job- her father will be proud." Draco glared at his father, "Father!" When he turned his attention back to Jade, her gaze pierced through his soul, "The only reason that you are dancing with me is because of my father, isn't it?" Draco stammered, "N-no! Jade, I-" She cut him off, "You what? You want to dance to make daddy happy? Well screw that!" She turned and left, leaving Draco to stare after her, only his thoughts to accompany, _"That's not it at all, Jade- I really did rather like you. Blast, dad! I don't care now, anyways! Hmpf- I don't think I'd care if she were dead...really...oh bloody hell...."_

Jade approached Anne with the demeanour of a cat that had been dragged from its hiding place. Anne watched as Jade flopped down to slouch on the bench, "Jade, you look as though you have just been force fed a lemon- untwist that sour look from your face and tell me what is going on." Jade sighed, "The only reason he asked was so he and his father would please my father. There was no other motive behind it, just his own benefit." Anne gave Jade a quick hug, "Hon, you're going to find out that there are so many folk out there who don't think of anyone besides themselves. There is nothing you can do to spot them, if it is not a blatantly obvious fact. How about you go dance with Angel- she is not doing anything right now, and I think that she would be absolutely thrilled." Jade nodded and went off to find her little friend. After their dance, Angel bounded over to Anne, "C'mon, Mum! I'm never going to win our bet with you just sitting there!" Anne blushed, "You want me to take Jade's advice?" Angel nodded, "Yeah, shut up and dance." Angel skipped off; Anne sighed, her daughter was getting a bit more like Jade each day- or was it that Jade was getting a bit more like her daughter? She couldn't tell. Severus rose and offered her his hand, "Well, shall we take the advice so kindly given by Angel?" Anne smiled, "Sure, why not?" They began to dance, Anne laughing and smiling as she listened to him tell her of a year in his childhood when at the Belfast convention he had slipped a snake onto the refreshments table with the help of Vanessa and Robert, which had caused Adelaide to scream. Robert had quickly scooped up the snake and the three pranksters had disappeared into the crowd, leaving Adelaide to try to explain herself, not only to the other wizards, but to Nigel as well. Anne grinned teasingly, "Perhaps that is why Adelaide distanced herself from you- she doesn't seem like the type who would like to be surprised by a snake." He shook his head, "I think she blames me for everything bad that has happened to the family since I was disowned- true, some of it was my fault, but not all of it!" He lowered his voice to a whisper, "She's the one who went and slept with Voldemort- all the repercussions of that are most certainly not my fault." Anne smiled, "Not in the least bit. Do you want to step outside for a moment, get some air?" He shook his head, "Not really...but if you want to..." She shrugged, "No- I was just wondering if you were interested- I kind of feel the same way." There was a slight bit of an awkward pause before Severus spoke again, "Anne, what is this 'bet' that I keep hearing Angel reference?" Anne shook her head, "Nothing really- just a silly idea of hers that I bought into for a moment and then later realized that I would probably regret." The look on his face told Anne that he was not satisfied with that answer; she sighed and continued, "Angel thinks that I will fall in love again before May first of this upcoming year." She could tell that he was going to prompt her to tell more. He did, "Who with?" Tentatively, Anne responded, "Um...you." He looked amused, "So you placed a bet?" Anne quickly retorted, "On her request." Severus was not finished with the inquisition, "Do you think she will win it?" Anne cast her eyes down, "Honestly, Severus, I can't say- the entire future is so clouded- I mean, I could end up leaving again, or even dead, and then she would lose." He pressed further, "What if the bet were due today?" Anne was obviously uncomfortable by the tone of her voice, "I still can't say. My emotions are still so skewed that I can't identify what is what." He raised his brow, unsatisfied with her response, "You cannot tell if you are in love or not?" Anne sighed, "No- but isn't friendship enough?" The song they had been dancing to ceased; he shook his head and stopped their motion, "I don't know." Severus turned his back to her and left. Anne hmpf'ed, "Damn!" She made her way back to where Jade was sitting. For a moment, they both watched as Severus opened the door and quitted the ball for the Belfast night. Jade turned to Anne, "Where's he off to?" Anne tossed her hands up and let them fall with a smack to her lap, "Heaven only knows- I think it was something I said." Jade gave Anne an amused grin, "Well, neither of us is having the luck tonight with the not-so-fair sex, are we?" Anne returned the grin, "I guess not- and it would look sort of odd to these folks here if we danced with one another, eh?" Jade laughed, "Yeah- it's alright for an adult lass to dance with a little lady such as Angel, but the people around here would look at us a bit strangely if we suddenly decided to do our own thing." Anne spotted Angel out dancing with Nigel, "At least Angel found a dance partner...." Jade nodded, "She sure did; now why don't you tell me exactly what exchange took place out there that would have made Severus leave- we'll see if we can't figure out how to straighten this mess out." Anne told Jade the whole story, "So then, after I asked him if friendship wasn't enough, he told me that he didn't know and turned and left. Jade, how else can I say that I don't want to get into anything because this year held so many reminders of the love I lost and I don't want to take that chance again? How do you say, 'No, I can't love you because of the memory of my dead husband' without hurting someone?" Jade leaned back against the wall, "He knows about Jon, right?" Anne nodded, "Well, Annelise Schetzek, I think that the best solution is just to remind him of what you have been through and tell him exactly what is on your mind- Severus deals with things in a straightforward manner. He may have forgotten, well, not _forgotten_ , but not thought about what you had to face with Jon when he responded- after all, no matter how hard he tries to deny it, he is only human." Anne fiddled with her scarab broach, "What if he still doesn't get it? I don't want to lose his confidence, but I also am not ready to take that leap again- and if that is the only way that I can keep him..." Jade gave Anne a one-arm hug, "Anne, I somehow doubt that Severus would ever be _that_ dense- I mean, he _can_ be really dense...but not that bad! and if he is not willing to wait for you, then no matter how hard it is to admit it, he is not worth your worry." Anne laughed a little, "Thanks Jade- how did you get so wise?" Jade shrugged, "You live, you learn." Anne nodded, "Can you tell Nigel and Angel that I am going to go find Severus and take your advice?" Jade rose, "You can count on me- be careful out there, Belfast is really rough at night." Anne smiled, "Jade, I can take care of myself- I have my bodice dagger tucked in here somewhere." Jade turned to tell Nigel and Angel what was going on, while Anne turned to track down Severus.

Anne walked back toward their hotel. She decided that she should take the shortcut Angel had shown them through an alley rather than to take the longer route around. She could see the hotel through the alleyway as she heard motion off to her right from near a fire escape. A rough pair of hands grabbed her from behind and the person from near the fire escape stepped in front of her, "What have we here? A little lady all dressed up for us- pretty thing!" Anne's eyes flashed with anger, "Let me go this instant!" The man in front of her sneered, "Why, what do you have to fear? She's feisty..." Anne jammed the heel of her shoe into the foot of the man behind her; he let her arms free, "I am Annelise Marrion Schetzek- you will rue the day you were born should you try to harm me." The man from behind her groaned. She noticed that the man in front of her was thin and dark haired while out of the corner of her vision she noticed the man behind her moving painfully to her side. He was stocky and blonde, _"Great,"_ Anne thought, " _an idiot and his thug: just like the Malfoys- I should be used to this..._ " The blonde grinned at the defiant woman trapped in the alley, "Aww, she wants to play hard to get!" The thin man nodded to his companion, "She is going to try to make this difficult...." Both men lunged at her, " _All right, not like the Malfoys- whatever._ " She drew her bodice dagger and let it glint in the distant light of a streetlamp. The thin man grabbed at her waist, so she kicked him in the groin. As she leapt over his crouching body, the blonde man tripped her. She felt herself falling and caught herself with one hand- the other clutched her dagger. The blonde man knelt over her and attempted to choke her from behind. Anne rolled her eyes, " _That’s inefficient._ " She kicked up hard, jabbing him in the back with the heel of her shoe. He yelped in pain, so she repeated the attack until he let go and fell to the side. She clamoured to her feet, but by this time, the thin man had recovered and caught her with a right hook. Her lip split as her face collided with the brick wall of one of the buildings lining the alley. The impact did not break her nose, but it began to bleed immediately. Realizing the severity of her new position, she quickly pulled herself together, ignoring the blood, and thrust with her dagger at the thin man. He backed off for a moment, but his companion made the mistake of charging at Anne. She felled him with a swift kick to the knee that crunched as she shattered the kneecap. The thin man stared at the tigress before him in absolute shock before he turned and ran the opposite way down the alley. Anne replaced her bodice dagger and pulled her handkerchief from where she had tucked it in her bodice, clasping it to her freely bleeding nose. She noticed that her right hip was throbbing as she made her way to the hotel and into the lobby- she realized that she must have hurt it in either the fall, or her collision with the wall. The desk clerk gazed at her in shock, "Miss, do you need help?" She shook her head and realized that it too hurt, "No, but call the police and report an assault in the alley on the tenant of room three hundred-fifty three." The clerk dialled as Anne waited for the lift. It arrived, she boarded, and as she did, she heard the clerk following her instructions. As she exited the lift, she began to feel dizzy. She dug into the inner pocket in her robes and discovered that her room key had vanished during the fight. She knew that she was going to pass out soon- her dizziness was worsening and her head throbbed. She stumbled across the hall and managed to knock on the door to room three hundred-fifty four as the world began to fade, " _I only hope that Severus heard me...._ " The hallway blacked out and Anne crumpled to the floor in a heap.

Severus heard a light tapping on his door, "Go away," he responded. His thoughts berated him, " _Oh, come on, open the blasted door- it's not like it is going to kill you...._ " He sighed and got up to see what was happening. He was not prepared for the sight which met his eyes. Collapsed on the floor in front of his door lay Anne, her robes scuffed, the velvet of her dress torn at the knees, and blood running down her face, "Oh my God..." He bent down and gathered her body in his arms, bringing her to the couch in the hotel room and very gently laying her down. He closed the door and went to the bathroom to fill the ice bucket with warm water and to get a washcloth to clean up the blood. He rushed around, knocking the other towels on the floor, but not caring in the least bit- he grabbed a few hand towels to use as dressing, if need be, and sat on the edge of the couch at her side. Severus felt her pulse, and finding it not too low, let out a sigh- she was alive, even if unconscious. He called her name and gently shook her shoulders, but she remained out cold. " _I shouldn't have left my emergency potions case at home...._ " he thought as he began to wipe the blood from Anne's face and where it had trickled down her chin. He checked to see if her knees were as ripped as the velvet, and found to his great relief that, though skinned, there was relatively little gravel in the scrape. Her hands, however, were a mess. Her palms were skinned and red, bloody and dirty, little bits of asphalt and gravel sticking in the wound. As carefully as he could, Severus began to clean her hands, " _Oh God- if You even exist, let her be alright and may the others come home soon,_ " he prayed, not knowing if anything he was praying for would be heard.

Five minutes later, a knock came on the door. Severus kissed Anne's forehead and whispered to her yet unconscious form, "Hold on, I'll just be gone a moment," before he answered the door. Two police officers stood in the hall, "Excuse me," the taller one said, "is the occupant of room three hundred-fifty three here? We received a call from the desk clerk reporting an assault." Severus nodded, "Yes, she is- but she has been unconscious since I found her collapsed outside my door." The tall officer motioned to the man behind him, "We think that we caught her assailant in the alleyway below." Severus shook his head, "I have no idea what happened to Annelise, only that she is hurt." The second officer nodded, "I can try to wake her, if you will let me." Severus led the officers over to the couch and he sat at Anne's side, "Please, do what you can." As the officers began their work, Nigel appeared in the hallway, "Severus, what on this earth is going on?" Severus called to him from within the room, "Anne's been hurt- the officers say that the desk clerk called them to report her assault in the alley." Nigel shook his head, "What was she doing in the alley?" Angel piped up, "It's a shortcut." Jade tried to keep the little girl out of the way, but Angel dodged into the room and climbed on Severus' lap, "Will Mum be O.K.?" He gave Angel a quick hug, "I am sure- these officers are waking her up now." Angel nodded and sighed, "Jade-" Jade picked Angel up, "Come on, love, let's go into your room and talk." Angel leaned her head on Jade's shoulder, "'K. Can you stay with me tonight?" Jade smiled, "If your Mum isn't feeling up to moving, sure I can. Isn't that what friends are for?" Jade left with Angel as Adelaide was entering her room, "Jade, you know that you are sharing a room with me, right?" Jade glared at her mother, "Not if Angel needs me, then I stay with her." Adelaide slammed her door. Nigel stood behind his son, "Are you alright?" Severus did not answer, Anne was coming to. The officer helped her to sit up very slowly, "Miss, are you alright?" She slowly blinked, "If that isn't the most obvious question that I've been asked all day.... Where's Severus?" He smiled and gently laid his hand on her shoulder, "Right here, Annelise." She let a relieved smile cross her face. The thin officer addressed her, "Miss, the clerk reported an assault in the alley. Were you the one who told the clerk to file this complaint?" Anne raised an eyebrow at him, "O.K., that's the second most obvious question that I have been asked all day. Shit, my head hurts...." The officer continued, "We think that we have your assailant." Anne nodded and realized that it was a bad idea to do so, "Ouch...which one did you get?" The officer looked confused, "Pardon?" Anne clarified herself, "There were two- a thin guy who was the talker and a stocky guy who didn't say much." The officer asked Anne if she would recognize either man if she saw them again, "Yeah, I would, one man only has one good knee- I think I broke the other one...." The second officer asked her if she would mind coming down to the lobby to identify the one-kneed man, and she consented. With difficulty, Anne stood. She wobbled and nearly fell again. Severus caught her and with his help she made her way to the lift. Nigel stayed behind in the room. Anne found herself once again in the lobby, this time it was filled with police. The clerk nodded vigorously to a man who looked like he was in charge of the investigation, "Yes inspector, that's her alright. Poor lass...." The investigator motioned for his men to pull their limping prisoner to Anne's attention, "Miss, is this the man who assaulted you?" Anne nodded slowly, "Yes." The investigator continued to question Anne on everything from the details of the attack to the reason she carried a bodice dagger. Weary with questions, she gave the investigator her contact info and watched as the officers led her assailant from the premises. Slowly, Severus escorted her back to the lift and waited for it to begin its ascent. As the lift began to move, Anne lost her balance. Severus swept her up in his arms and carried her back to his room, setting her gently on the couch. Severus noticed that Nigel had removed the water and towels from beside the couch and set tea on the table. Nigel entered the room with Anne's overnight bag and her robe, "I just let the girls know what was going on with your state and I told them that you will be spending the night here- I want you to be where I can keep an eye on you. Angel will be over in a few moments to say goodnight. How are you feeling, Anne? What happened?" Anne repeated her story again. Nigel hooked the effect to the cause and realized that Anne had gone looking for Severus. He smiled, "Blanket the couch and get some rest. I will see you in the morning." He turned to Severus, "Are you going to sit up with her for a while?" Severus nodded and Nigel retreated to the bedroom. A bold knock sounded at the door. Severus answered it and in bounded Angel, " ** _MUM_**! What happened? Jade told me why you left, but not what came next!" Anne smiled, "Don't you worry, love, some idiots tried to mug me, but I scared 'em off pretty good- they only got a few hits in. I'll be fine." "Then why do you have to stay here tonight, Mum?" Anne sighed, "Nigel is worried because I ache all over and he wants to keep an eye on me- everything will be alright- you go get some sleep." Angel kissed her mother goodnight and scampered off to Jade who was waiting at the door to Angel's room. Anne sighed and slowly stood, "I am going to go change in the bathroom." Severus extended his hand to her, "Do you need help getting there?" Anne shook her head, "I'll walk slow, don't worry." Sure enough, she slowly made her way to the bathroom and then slowly walked back after she had changed into her simple black nightdress. She let him assist her to the couch and he sat beside her, speaking softly, "Annelise, why did you come back on your own?" She paused and replied in a voice as soft as his, "Jade and I talked and she told me why some things that I may have said could have upset you. I came to make things right." Anne toyed with her bodice dagger, "I can't identify my emotions because I am afraid- I fear losing people- remember what happened with Jon- that overshadows pretty much all the emotion that I have. Angel is my little counsellor- she helps me to trust and then to get past the fear. I can't take that leap of faith again, at least not now. Uncertainty is my problem, so I just dodge that sort of emotional step." Her voice hung in the air, waiting to hear either his rebuke or his acceptance. Anne did not know which to expect. He put his arm around her shoulders, "I understand- I apologize for the abrupt exit- that was not the only thing on my mind. Adelaide is frustrating me." Anne shrugged, he gently kissed her cheek, "Anne, don't just shrug like it is nothing, I overreacted and I hurt you." Anne was pleasantly surprised with the humility she saw. She leaned her head on his shoulder, "What did Adelaide say this time?' He smiled at Anne, "She just keeps dropping snide little comments about the past- Robert, my former work- it's hard to live in the present when the past is thrown up in your face." Anne reached for the tea setting on the table and sipped her tea, "I wonder what Adelaide would do if I told her about my past." Severus looked at Anne with mild surprise, "She doesn't know?" Anne shook her head and quickly realized that her headache had not entirely subsided. He continued, "Does Nigel?" Anne smiled through the wince that had crossed her face, "Yes, I told him very shortly after I came. He saw that I was remorseful, that I suffered from all that I had been through, and that I was willing to move on and learn from my mistakes. It has been so wonderful of him to accept Angel and me as family." Severus watched Anne slowly sip her tea, holding the teacup with her fingertips to avoid paining her damaged palms, " _Good Lord, she is beautiful..._ " he thought. Aloud he responded, "Nigel has been wonderful, I only hope that it will last." Anne slowly set her now empty teacup on the table, her fingers quivering slightly as her very tired body attempted to stay awake, "It will last- don't you worry. Nigel is not like Adelaide in the least bit. He can see the past as dead and gone, unable to be changed in any way, shape, or form, only mourned." He stood up and kneeled next to the table so that he was at the same level her head would be when she lay down on the couch, "Anne, lay down and get some sleep, you've had a rough day, and I am sorry that I was the cause of it. Relax and try to let your mind forget until morning." She slowly adjusted herself on the couch as he went to get an extra blanket for her. By the time he got back, she had already drifted off to sleep. He draped the blanket over her sleeping form and gently brushed her hair from her face, "Goodnight, Milady. Dream sweet and perchance spare a dream for me."

They went home the next day, and the household spent through Tuesday relaxing and, in Anne's case, recovering from the weekend in Belfast. Wednesday Adelaide hounded Anne about her friendship with Severus, on Thursday she hounded Severus himself about, well, everything. On Friday they conspired against Adelaide. Nigel found her after dinner stuck to the wall in the living room, up-side down.

Saturday, Anne decided that she and Angel needed a day for just them- especially after how worried Angel had been for her mother a week prior. The girls played board games, ran outside, played with the cat, cooked, and danced all day. After dinner, Severus was walking by Angel's room when he heard music. He peered in the door to see Angel jumping on the bed, singing into a hairbrush while Anne danced around at the foot of the bed, singing into a handheld mirror. He did not recognize the song, but they apparently knew it quite well. Anne noticed him and, having just joined Angel on the bed, jumped down singing. She danced her way over to him, singing the end of the chorus to the song,

_"Hold my hand_  
'Cause I'm gonna love you the best that  
The best that I can"

Anne went through the chorus one more time with Angel singing the melody and she singing and overlay. By the end of the song, not even a minute later, Severus was laughing. It was hard not to laugh at a twenty-five year old singing into a mirror and acting like a diva.

That Sunday, Anne wanted to make up for the week that she had spent most of recovering from the trip. She had not been able to sit with Severus in the evenings as they had been doing before the trip, so she packed a picnic lunch and had Severus meet her in the barn. They wandered all over the property, through the woods, the wildflowers, by the little stream that trickled through the woods and into the clearing, and through Nigel's little vegetable garden without hardly speaking a word, except when Anne fell into the stream and stood there laughing with the hems of her skirts swirling in the moving water and Severus asked her if she was alright. 

Monday Severus returned to his home to prepare for the coming of the new school year.

On Tuesday, Anne, Angel, and Jade packed the things for Hogwarts and made sure that nothing they needed had escaped under the bed, or some other mysterious place in Nigel's house. On Wednesday they checked into the Leaky Cauldron in the evening, ready to shop for anything that they would need for the coming year on Thursday. Severus met them in Diagon Alley on Friday when the ladies were just hanging around and having fun. They left Diagon Alley and ventured forth into London, Anne in the pursuit of an antique shop. She found one, but it did not sell anything interesting, then she got an idea, "Angel, do you remember that little place that hid us back when we were here? I wonder if Daniel still runs that place and if he has anything of interest..." Severus and Jade were confused, but at Angel's insistent prodding, they followed Anne to a small, well lit side street that dead-ended into a store whose door looked like it belonged on something Medieval, not on a back-street shop in London. Anne entered first, and was immediately recognized by the young man behind the desk, "Well, I'll be! It can't be Miss Anne- I 'aven't seen yeh 'round these parts in ages!" Anne laughed, "Hey Danny- you remember Angel, and this is my friend Severus and his niece, Jade." "Mighty fine t' meet yeh, an' Angel, Lord in 'eaven, yeh grew like a bloody weed!" he turned his attention to Anne, "I, eh, found yeh a few things an' I left 'em in yer corner- I knew yehd be back an' I could ne let any body else get to 'em afore yeh did!" Anne thanked Daniel and wandered over to a back corner of the store where a drape partitioned it from the rest of the shop. She began to dig through the antiques and junk behind the curtain with Angel, looking for anything interesting. Jade wandered around the store in awe, while Severus chatted lightly with Daniel. Angel pulled an armour punching dagger from the pile, "Mum, this is awesome! Look, here's a really neat chalice- it looks like it could be the Holy Grail!" Anne pulled out a cavalry sabre, "This is more like what I was looking for- something for my wall- something that will really stand out in the classroom. And here, Angel, if you want to find a few small things, I have a little money that we can spend- not much, but a little." Anne pulled a hunting knife from the pile and replaced it; it was too new and far to sharp to hang on the wall. She finally found a few more swords: a hand and a half and two hand broadsword, along with a rapier and dagger pair. Along with Angel's finds, they took their treasures up to Daniel, "So, yeh found somethin'- glad of it! Ah- get away with yer money- yer not goin' t' be payin' me t' day- not after all these years- call it a 'ello gift." After many thanks given from Anne, they left the shop and bid Daniel a good day. Severus did not seem too fond of the concept of knife shopping, but he bore with it for the sake of Anne- thankfully, after Daniel's shop, they were done. That evening, they ran into the Malfoys in the Leaky Cauldron. Severus and Anne avoided them as much as possible, as did Jade. Draco cut off Angel while she was carrying a tray full of food back to the table with Jade's assistance. He glared at them both and sneered, "Why don't you watch where you are going, you Muggle loving sots." Angel returned the glare, "Why don't _you_ watch where _you_ are going, you spoiled, pigheaded, dolt- we just got done knife shopping." Draco did not want to believe the child, but was forced to when he saw Anne showing the blades to Jade and Severus once the girls had delivered the food to the table. Anne stood up and demonstrated to them the difference between the broadswords, how one would accurately use the sabre, and how to use both rapier and dagger in a fight. The Malfoys did not run into the Snape-Riddle-Schetzek-LeFay party for the remainder of the evening or the next day, when everyone was making sure their things were in order. On Sunday, which happened to be August thirty first, Severus helped load everything of the ladies' onto Platform 9 3/4 and then went his own way to Hogwarts. 

The summer had passed quickly, but not uneventfully. This school year, Anne, Angel, and Jade would all see the beginning of their first _complete_ year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, each one hoping that since they were going to be at the school longer, they would have even more fun than the year before.


	4. 4

August thirty-first: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry began another year. For the first time, Angel, Anne, and Jade arrived via the Hogwarts Express. Anne watched in wonder as the first years drifted across the lake in little boats, each one having a torch to light the way. The sight was, to the trio, quite lovely. As they stood and watched the boats and the returning students made their way into the carriages that would take them up to the castle, Jade stared at the stars, "Anne- look up for a moment, I don't think that I have really ever bothered to see the stars above me, at least not like this...." Anne smiled as Angel tugged on her arm, "Angel and I used to sleep under them and watch the meteor showers. Perhaps some night this year we will have to see if we can't have a stargazing party. Right now though, we have to get up to the school- there is only on carriage left, it is waiting for us, and Angel is going to pull my arm off if we don't move soon." Jade laughed at her little friend as they journeyed to their ride; their luggage had already been loaded on, and in a moment they were off, headed back to the comfort of the castle and the banquet within. 

Anne and Jade hurried to their places, Anne next to Severus at the head table and Jade on her other side. Angel once again joined the Gryffindor table and within moments had dived into her tale of what she did that summer for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Anne's eyes scanned the crowd for familiar faces and found that everyone she had not seen graduate the past year was in their places, as expected. Draco and his henchmen were snickering amongst themselves about whatever, Zack leaned from the Ravenclaw table to chat with Ginny at Gryffindor, and the inseparable trio was, well, inseparable. Anne turned her attention to Jade, "We made it." Jade grinned, "And all is well back at the fort. Has that uncle of mine noticed you here yet?" Anne shook her head, "He's talking to Terlynise Adrians, the Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor- she came back this year, fully recovered from her skiing accident last year." Jade winked at Anne, "She's trying to steal your gent, Anne." Anne sighed, her smile becoming wistful and her voice falling to a whisper, "Jade, please don't joke about love- it is something that I am rather trying to avoid, in that form. Anyhow, if you do feel the need to play that game, at least let's make a deal that it is only with Angel and me around." Jade nodded, "Deal- now go and defend your claim." Anne playfully hit Jade's arm, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make Jade smirk, "Hey, watch it there, tigress, save that rage for my dad." Anne lightly laughed and turned her attention back to the crowd in front of her. Severus finished his short conversation with Terlynise and brought his attention to Anne, "I see your trip ended safely. Is Angelique excited to be back here?" Anne's voice turned to playful reproach, "Severus, you leave Jade, Angel, and I in the middle of London with our newfound weaponry and all you can say is that we are here and Angel is excited?" He did not seem amused, she continued her spiel, "Oh, come on, aren't you even the least bit excited to have all of us back together again?" He raised an eyebrow, "Annelise-" She cut him off, "You know that formality is not my thing, only use my full name on special occasions." He sighed and continued, his voice low, "Alright, Anne, no, I am not excited about teaching another group of whining first years how not to spill their concoctions all over my lab and how to clean up the messes again, and I do not want to have to take my night duties where I chase pairs of students from places they have no business being doing things they have no business doing. I also do not appreciate having to explain myself." Anne's face had lost all of its lustre, "Fine, if you want to 'not explain yourself' any more, I will be in my chamber after dinner, seeing as I am sure that Jade would be more than willing to take Angel to visit all her friends." Anne turned her attention to Jade; Jade replied, "Happy to." Before either party could make any more mention of the situation, Albus Dumbledore rose to give his welcome back speech and to motion for the incoming first years to be sorted. Angel, Anne, and Jade all watched the ceremony with fascination, as of the three of them, only Jade had ever seen the sorting hat. After that, Albus led the students and staff in the school song. Anne had to laugh as each student chose a different tune to sing the lyrics which danced in the air in front of the head table. Anne smiled as she heard Angel's voice above the others singing brightly to the tune of **_Scotland the Brave_**. Anne glanced over at Jade and Jade at Anne. Together they began to sing harmony to Angel's tune, Anne singing a third higher and Jade singing a third lower. As they ended their song, Anne and Jade waved to Angel and all three began to laugh. Albus made a few announcements, along with the standard 'keep-out-of-the-Dark-Forest' speech and then, after welcoming the new students, the feast began.

After the dinner, Anne made her way back to her chambers as quickly as possible. She had to unpack Angel and her things so that they would be comfortable at the start of classes the next day. Anne found a note pinned to her door from Albus explaining that her class had been offered to all the students in an additional note that had been enveloped with their Hogwarts letters. Her class list was also pinned on her door.

 _Anne, the following students have elected to take your class this year:_  
Potter, Granger, Weasly (R), Weasly (G), Longbottom, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, MacCumhail, Branstone, Bones, Chang, Pitman, and a first year of the name Brittany Gwyn. All the other students are those that you are familiar with. Your class period is scheduled for the same time as last year and I am leaving the choice of curriculum up to you, since this is more of an extracurricular class and is not required. Have a nice year!  
~Minerva McGonagall

Anne tucked the note in her dress pocket and went on to her task of cleaning and arranging the room for the upcoming year. Anne was quite enthusiastic, for Nigel had said that as soon as she had settled in, if she wanted him to go to Cambridge and retrieve her pull-out couch from Elenore and Chloë- it would be nice if Jade ever wanted to stay the night- no one would have to sleep on the table. She cleaned and sorted for over an hour before she heard the Potions Lab door fly open and slam shut. She sighed, everything was back to normal, even if he was being a pain in the backside- it would be just like old times....

September first: the first day of classes arrived for Hogwarts. Anne entered her classroom to find it exactly the way she had left it that past summer. She began work on setting up her classroom and eliminating unnecessary desks. She only had fourteen students along with Angel and the occasional visit she expected from Jade. At precisely three thirty in the afternoon, Anne opened her classroom door to her students. They entered to find that Anne had arranged the desks into a horseshoe shape so that she could teach and demonstrate in the centre and no one would be blocked in their view. The large mahogany desk sat at the apex of the horseshoe arrangement. The first year student, Brittany began to move in the direction of the large desk when Draco pulled her aside, "Not that desk- that desk belongs to Miss Riddle and she will protect her territory violently if threatened." Draco turned back to find a seat and discovered that Jadelyn was staring him in the face, "Nice introduction there, Draco- perhaps you should add that you attack children if provoked and she should be wary of that also. You might also want to add that Angel has a habit of dancing with the Devil at midnight when the moon is full. Watch it, Malfoy- the only accusation made here that holds truth is the one pertaining to you." Brittany scowled at Jade, her ringlets of flaxen hair bouncing as she shook her head, "Draco is my cousin, you idiot- he would never hurt anyone unless he was provoked." Jade nodded, "I am sure that the little red head over there in the corner was a huge threat to your cousin when I walked in on his goons trying to turn her into pulp." Jade turned from Brittany and took her place behind the mahogany desk. Brittany sat beside her cousin, her face scowling at Jade as often as possible. Anne started class, "Good afternoon, everyone! I believe that we all know each other, except this young lady over here- would you care to introduce yourself to us?" Brittany rose, "I am Brittany Gwyn, first year in Slytherin house. I am not afraid of anything and my cousin is Draco Malfoy. I am proud to be in the house that my family has so long inhabited and I would like everyone to remember my family tree if they try to mess with me." Brittany sat down. Anne smiled, "Brittany, I will tell you the same thing that I told your cousin, threats are irrelevant to me and I fear no one. As I revealed to this class last year, I once was employed by Voldemort and therefore have no fear of the Malfoy family. I have seen the worst that I could have seen, there is nothing more to say. Anyhow, back to business. We will be studying the grand art of theatre in this class this year. Starting tomorrow we will work on Shakespeare and do a random assortment of play studies ranging from that which is classic to that which is modern. I will expect participation in this class, and all voices are encouraged to give opinions. If, however, respect becomes an issue, I will not hesitate to kick a student out of class for a day or so, and detentions will be dispensed- most of you remember last year's little duelling incident? I hope that we will not have such a repeat of nonsensical behaviour this year. For the next half hour, I request that you each write a brief paper detailing what you believe theatre is and how it affects our lives, both inside and out. Then I want each of you to get up here and do a little improvisational theatre using a cue that I will present to you." The students did their papers and handed them in just as Anne had told them to. Then came the improv. Anne had the students form groups of four for the exercise. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were first to fall victim to Anne's deck of improv cards. Each card had a who, what, where, when on it and the students had to act out the why and the how. The first group was given the following:  
who: a group of college students  
what: are celebrating  
where: at a bar/pub/speakeasy  
when: in the middle of the night  
Harry stood in the centre of the room, "Ron, I told you we should have never ordered that last round." Ron staggered over to lean on Jade's desk; his speech slurring, he attempted to stand steady, "But I have to down all twenty one shots, or I can't get into the frat house." Hermione flirted up to Ron, "Harry, calm down, he's not soused yet, and anyway, if he passes out, we can always just leave him with the barkeep, I'm sure he'll know what to do." Neville swaggered in, "Well kids, I think that is just about enough of this hazing, he's a big, tough, twenty one year old now and he can stand on his own two legs!" Ron tipped over, "...or not," continued Neville, "As the owner of this establishment, I can't just let you leave him out in the open here- how about we just shove him under the rug until he wakes up?" Hermione and Harry nodded, shoved Ron under their desks, and along with Neville, left the horseshoe of desks. They took a bow as everyone clapped, "Well done- I rather thought that Ron did a convincing impersonation of the drunk- next?" Ginny, Zack, Elenore, and Susan rose to meet Anne's next challenge:  
who: hippies and squares  
what: disco  
where: behind the dance hall  
when: on a smoke break  
Ginny and Zack began to make peace signs and talk in slow sentences while Elenore and Susan acted as though they were business women. Ginny pointed at a pretend briefcase that Elenore mimed to have and shouted, "You know, a cow had to die for that, you carnivore!" Zack pointed at Susan, "Yo, you work in that high-rise, right?" Susan nodded, "Yeah, what do you care, you long haired freak?" Ginny tried not to laugh, Zack's hair was quite short, "They cut down at least fifty trees for that building- including the one we used to live in! Save the trees!" Elenore pulled Susan aside, "This is really weird, weren't these guys supposed to have vanished back in the seventies?" Susan nodded, and, as Zack and Ginny shouted about saving the trees and chaining themselves to the tree they lived in so it would not get cut down, Susan and Elenore walked out of the scene. They all took their bows and their applause so the next group could take the stage- it was Goyle, Crabbe, Draco, and Brittany.  
who: a group of California teenagers  
what: discussing what they see  
where: at the beach  
when: at the end of the school year  
Draco looked at Anne as though she were crazy, but Brittany started the scene anyway, "Like, oh my God, like, did you like, see that, like, shirt that , like, Mary An was, like, wearing? It was, like, so, like, last week!" Draco stared at Goyle, "What are you looking at me like that for? She's your girlfriend, you tell her that you think Mary An looked hot in that shirt, dude, I am so not doing your dirty work so you don't hurt your chick- I'm going surfing." Draco left the scene, Crabbe walked to Brittany, "Hey Brit, you look hot today." Brit giggled, Crabbe put his arm around her, "Hey, why don't you ditch the dud and come to the beach with me? We can find ourselves a nice little hideaway, if you know what I mean...." Brittany giggled, "I, like, so, like, do!" Goyle stepped up, "Brit, Mary An is hotter than you- I'm gonna go and stay at her place for a few days." Brittany giggled again, "Sure! Like, I am, like, going to go the beach with her boyfriend, so, like, sure, she can have you!" Everyone left the scene. Applause came and went, and the group of Jade, Holli, Cho, and Angel took the stage.  
who: gangsters  
what: planning a strike  
where: in the hideout  
when: at night in the twenties  
Jade sat on her desk and began imitating Al Capone, "Well, me an' da boys went over t' see Tony this aftanoon an' he told me that one of us's been snitchin' t' the law." Angel nodded, "Yeah, an' I think it’s that good fer nothin' rat Benny- I sees him goin' afta the stash yestuday." Holli pretended to be cleaning a gun, "I think its time that ol' Benny meet my here Mama G- she gonna leave a hole in his head where th' brains he ain't got should be." Cho patted Holli's mimed gun, "Mama G did a number on ol' Mitch, didn't she?" Holli nodded, "Yeah, an' fer good reason, too- he sold part of th' shipment too cheap to th' Detroit faction." Jade grinned, "Then we gots us a plan- we gonna get this guy Benny- we hit him tommora when th' sun's sleepin'- be here sharp so we can get t' th' car an' get armed- no mistakes, no slips, no warnin's, or Mama G's gonna find you too- c'mon, Ang, let's blow this place an' find us a speakeasy with a few nice lookin' broads." Jade and Angel left the horseshoe, leaving Holli with Cho and the mimed gun, "Well, Cho, you got off light- I knows it’s been you that's givin' th' Detroit crew too much for not enough- an' Mama G's gonna have her say...." Holli raised her mimed gun and Cho fell to the floor. Holli left the scene and as Cho got up to take her bow, the applause once again rang out. 

Anne took centre stage, "Alright, that was great- I will see you all tomorrow, same time and place- be prepared for Shakespeare and if any of you want to bring your own copies of **_The Tempest_** , please feel free to do so- I have copies enough for all of you if need be. Good day and I'll see you in the morrow!" As her students left class, Anne gathered up the essays. She straightened the room, locked it, and returned to the dungeon to get to work. After her first day of teaching in the new year, she felt that her job had finally begun.

After dinner that night, Anne returned to her chamber to discover loud music penetrating the usually silent air that hung in the dungeon air. Anne sighed, Severus was sure to be angry with her for that too- he had not been at dinner and she wondered if that too was not her fault. She opened the door to her chamber to find that the noise was not issuing from it, rather from down the hallway farther. She knocked on the door on the opposite side of her room from the Potions Lab and, to her surprise, was met by Jade on the other side. Inside the room, Holli, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Angel, Cho, Neville, Elenore, Susan, Zack, and Ginny all were dancing- Anne had found the source of the music. She smiled, "Jadelyn, are you my new neighbour down here?" Jade nodded, "Yeah- do you want to come in? It is my little housewarming party." Anne laughed, "Thank you, but no- I have papers yet to grade. You may want to turn the music down so Severus doesn't come over here- anyhow, I'll try to be a buffer so he doesn't crash the party, O.K.?" Jade nodded, "Thanks, catch you around- and if we are still over here when you are done working, feel free to join us!" Anne turned to leave, "Sure thing!" She went back to her chamber and gathered her paperwork. She left there and knocked on Severus' door. He yanked it open, surprising her and causing her to lose her grip on her papers, which fell to the floor. She bent to pick them up while he stood in the doorway. She was not shocked that he did nothing to help her for a moment. After she nearly dropped the stack she had gathered in her arms while reaching for another page, he crouched down to help her and aided her up after all the papers had been collected. He held the door for her and gestured silently for her to enter the room. She sat down on one of the student desks and laid the papers beside her. He sat down at his desk, "What did you want?" Anne smiled, "To explain the noise in the hall and to seek refuge from it." He hmpf'ed, she continued, "Jade is moving in down the hall on the other side of me- the music is for her housewarming party." She paused for a moment, watching him scribble on something in front of him, "Severus, something is out of place- you aren't usually this sullen around me. What is on your mind?" He pretended not to notice that she had spoken; she rose and stood beside him, leaning down so that she was at his eye level, "Severus, please, don't ignore me. I can't help in any way if you won't trust me. After what we went through this summer, with Adelaide and in Belfast, I would think that you could let me into your world just a little bit more. If that is not the case, and you still need more assurance that I am not going to let you down, tell me, I want to be your friend, your secret keeper, and if you don't tell me what is going on, I can't do those things effectively." He had not yet made eye contact, but she could read his body language- he let himself slouch slightly, his pen stopped skritching, and he let out a small, hardly detectable sigh. Anne stood up and shook her head, "Since you don't seem to want to talk, I will be returning to my room. If things change, then you are more than welcome to come and talk to me there." She began to gather her papers up again, " _Come on, Severus, stop this charade...let me in again...."_ Anne walked to the door and paused slightly before she shifted the papers to one arm to open the door. To her delight, he spoke, "Anne- can you stay just a little longer? Even if I am not willing to speak today, you may still use this space for your work." Anne smiled, "I would be glad to stick around for a while." She spread out on the student desk closest to him and began to read the essays she had collected that day. It did not take her too long to read each of the papers, since they were subjective; the only papers that she graded down were those by Crabbe and Goyle, which were too short. Crabbe's said,

" _Theatre is stuff on stage. It doesn't make us think._ "

Anne's comment on it was,

" _I said a 'brief paper', not a 'brief line'- and who ever said theatre was without thought? D."_

Goyle's was not much better,

" _Theatre is on stage. It is entertaining."_

Anne sighed and wrote a note on his also, _  
_

" _Recall- it was to be a brief paper- writing large so that this covers a whole page does not count. D."_  
  
Anne finished her work and gathered her stack to leave. Severus stopped his grading for a moment, "Are you finished already?" Anne shrugged, "Yeah, I didn't give much of an assignment for the first day of classes, considering tomorrow we are plunging into Shakespeare. I figure a little mercy gives every one of my students a chance at a good start. Of course, I still got a few that were under par, but oh well, they don't care about their grade, why should I?" Severus rose and walked over to Anne, who had not yet risen to leave, rather had just gathered her stack of papers in her arms before doing so. He sat down beside her, "I apologize if I was a bit abrupt yesterday evening. I am quite glad that you three arrived safely. To tell you the truth, I was a bit uneasy of leaving you in the city, after what happened in Belfast over the summer, but I thought that since you were with both Jade and Angel that there would be no trouble that would arrive that you three could not handle together. About my silence, I will tell you what is on my mind when I am ready. I do trust you, I would do so with my life, but I do not always know how to verbalize emotions or thoughts as they are occurring. I must have time to process it all before I can put it into words." Anne set her papers on a desk to the side and put her arms around Severus- he returned her embrace, "Severus, I understand completely." She pulled away so that she could look him in the eyes, "If I seem too prying and you are still trying to figure out yourself what is going on inside, just tell me. It will make things much easier if you can just say, 'Anne, give me a while and then I can tell you' or, 'give me time' or something- I won't have any problem with that." He sighed and gave her a little smile, pulling her back into the embrace. She let her head rest on his shoulder as he spoke, "Alright, Anne, I will try, I will try." They sat in silence for a moment, relaxing in each others’ arms before he released her and she gave him a grin, "I know you hate excessive noise, but how about coming over to tea? The music is not too loud through the walls...." He nodded, "Give me a few moments to finish grading these final few papers and I will be right over." 

Anne took her paperwork and left to set the table. She threw her work on an end table that Nigel had brought from Elenore and Chloë and went about gathering her tea things. She heated the water and set out the cups, saucers, and tea caddies and flopped down on her couch with Kath, Angel's cat. Kath was quite interested in playing with a thread that hung from the sleeve of Anne's dress. A knock came on the door, and Anne called from the couch, "Door's open- come on in!" Meanwhile, Anne swore that she heard AC/DC's **_The Jack_** coming from Jade's room while the door was open. Severus shut out some of the noise and joined her on the couch, "Where did you get this- not while in London?" Anne shook her head and untangled Kath's paw from her hair, "No, this was mine when I was in Cambridge- Nigel went out there and brought it and the coffee table from Elenore and Chloë's place for me. I have my couch back- I think that grey background and the little blue and red diamonds on it go well with the whole stone theme of this room, don't you?" He laughed and then got up to pour tea, "Severus, you don't have to do that- let me-" He cut her off, "No, sit- I am serving this time. Think of it as making up for not being at dinner this evening. He brought the tea over to the couch, "So, what are you teaching this year, Anne?" Anne sipped her tea and replied, "Theatre- tomorrow we begin with **_The Tempest_**. I plan on teaching on quite a few plays this semester- I haven't thought on next, we will probably do a unit on theatre crews, what they are and why they are important, along with a brief section of lab time for each crew, all of it culminating into a final performance of one of the plays studied in the first semester, which one is still up in the air. I may let the class vote on them." Severus was intrigued, "Which plays are you planning on teaching?" She pulled a sheet of paper from under the stack on the end table, " ** _The Tempest_** , **_Macbeth_** , **_Hamlet_** , **_Trifles_** , **_Medea_** , **_Oedipus Rex_** , **_Antigone_** , **_'Night, Mother_** , and **_The Crucible_**. All of it is tragic literature, but I feel that a good bit of tragedy is one of the best ways to intrigue someone to the theatre- we will be looking at the four types of drama (farce, tragedy, comedy, and melodrama) and seeing if we can't find elements of each within the plays we are reading. It should be interesting. We will be doing class readings and then an exam on each along with a performance, not necessarily a memorized one." He nodded, "It will definitely be an adventure on your part, trying to bring a bit of culture to some of these students." Anne agreed, "Especially getting Draco and his party to buy into the fact that Muggle literature is not all sap and gore, that it does have backbone. On the subject of Malfoy- that little cousin of his is a brat." It was Severus' turn to agree, "I gave her detention already- she threatened me with the 'my-family-is very-powerful-and-anything-I- say-that-reflects-this-class-badly-will-get-back-to-you' ploy- she is to be scrubbing cauldrons tomorrow before sunup." Anne smiled, "Ah, Severus- nothing like an early morning detention to get a student on the straight and narrow- or at least to shut them up for a while. Being Draco's cousin, I would expect that she would know better than to mess with the head of Slytherin house." The two friends sat and silently sipped their tea as the bass beat from Jade's music pulsed through the walls. Kath decided that she rather liked Severus' robes and promptly curled up in his lap and fell asleep. He handed Anne Kath and rose to leave when the music from next door stopped, "Angel will be coming home soon- I do not wish her to be making conclusions about her bet," Severus said with a little smile. Anne laughed, he thanked her for the tea, and he left the room. Two minutes later, Angel entered and found her mother setting the tea things in a wash tub and putting the kettle away. Kath had been placed on the couch, having slept through the transition in her sleeping place. Angel bounced over to Anne and asked how she had spent her evening, "Well, Angel, I graded papers and had a spot of tea with Severus. Why do you ask?" Angel grinned and went to find her night dress and get changed for bed, "Just keeping track of you, Mum- you know I have to know who you are with and when so I can keep you out of trouble."

On Wednesday, Anne introduced **_The Tempest_** by giving the students an overview of the mythology that the play encompassed. They also divided up the parts in the play for the readings that would be taking place that week. Each day they would switch the cast so that everyone got a chance to read more than once, if they wanted too. Anne also knew that there were far too many parts in the play for her class to cover. It took the class until the next Tuesday to read the entire play, with an exam on Wednesday the tenth and an in-class performance on the eleventh. It turned out quite a bit more humorous than it should have, seeing as some students ended up playing multiple parts and Neville somehow got stuck having to hold a conversation with himself as two different characters, switching hats each line to differentiate between characters. It was even funnier when his two characters were each being addressed by another character. Thankfully, he had the script in front of him to keep from being confused himself. Anne let her students take Friday off- she had an important meeting with the rest of the staff.

Jade and Anne headed to the Great Hall to find out what the meeting that had been called was all about. Albus addressed the staff, "As the heads of house know, next week holds many surprises for you. I notified all of you not to plan class for next week also. We are having guests, not from other schools, but we are trying out the idea of having a parents' week at Hogwarts. The students will be notified of this at our dinner tonight. Letters have already been sent out. The plan for next week is as follows: On Sunday the parents will arrive and will be accommodated in the south end of the building. They will be divided up by which house their students are in, yet nearly all activities will be integrated. Monday morning after breakfast, there will be house reunions for those parents who have been here before, and for those who are not of Wizard blood, there will be a time to meet others of similar station. During the day, there will be a student art show around the building that Minerva has been organizing all week. Staff members will be able to show off their artistic talents after dinner. On Tuesday there will be tours of Hogwarts led by staff- I do need you to volunteer for this task, if you are able to do so. On Wednesday, all of you are to be in your classrooms during the time that you usually hold class so the students can bring their parents to their classes. On Thursday we will have a student Quiddich Showcase where we will play all teams against one another, resulting in six games. On Friday, the parents and staff will meet by house and will form Quiddich teams based on those who were on the house teams in days gone by. On Saturday, the parents will leave here after a luncheon and the students will help the staff set everything back in order for classes Monday that evening and Sunday. It will be a bit chaotic, but I believe that each and every one of you will have a wonderful time. I hope that this is not to short of notice for you to prepare for the coming week." Anne sighed as they left the meeting, hoping that the parents would be manageable. An idea flew into her head as she detoured to Gryffindor house- what about the Dursleys? Was there any chance that she could get them to the school so that they would treat Harry with at least a little respect? She went to talk to Harry- it couldn't hurt to try.

Saturday, Anne took a quick trip with Angel, Jade, and Harry to see if there was anything they could do. Harry rang the doorbell and waited for anyone to answer. A large man opened the door, "Harry, what are you doing here?!" he said with disgust. Then he noticed the pretty raven haired young woman, the lady wearing a long emerald velvet dress with a matching cloak that pooled at her feet and the red-headed girl wearing a pair of jeans and a long sleeved Ozzy T-shirt. He did not know what to think, so Anne spoke first, "Good day, sir, is there any chance that we may enter into your home to speak with you and your family on a matter of importance to us?" Vernon was suspicious of the cloaked woman, but he could not let his strange guests stand on his stoop, so he warily let them in. He motioned for them to sit on the couch and commanded Harry to go and serve the guests. Jade stopped him, "I'm afraid that we need Harry with us at this moment and it would be terribly inconvenient for him not to be present." Vernon nodded and called for his wife and son, who he introduced to the three strangers in his living room. Anne removed the hood of her cloak and gracefully rose to shake hands with their hosts, "Pleasure, Milady. I am Annelise Schetzek, my companion here is Miss Jadelyn Riddle and this is my daughter, Angelique LeFay. We come to you on a matter which may be a bit touchy to you, but we would greatly appreciate it if you would hear us out. Is there any reason why we should not all be seated and discuss this in a manner of grace?" The Dursleys sat, as did Anne. Jade began to speak, "We are aware that you received a letter concerning a week at Hogwarts for the families of students to become acquainted with the school and its wonderful grounds. We also are aware that you do not take kindly to anything related to magic. Anne and I felt that if we extended a personal invitation to you all that we would, perhaps, make you more comfortable with the concept. I assure you that the week would be well spent, and all accommodations would be provided for. Transportation, lodging, and all meals are free of cost." Angel piped up, "You can think of it as a free vacation to a place with such pristine scenery that you would be surprised you were still in Britain- the lake is as clear as crystal with grass so green on the grounds that you would think you had wandered into a dream...plus you would be part of an exclusive group of non-magic folk that ever got to have the immense privilege of meeting our esteemed staff, including Headmaster Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard in the entire world, and you would get to see the most spectacular sport, Quiddich. The fast paced action of this game is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat- I have to say, I watched the first practice of the year for each house, and I think that Ravenclaw has as good a bid at the house title as Slytherin of Gryffindor- those are the dormitory names- each student is placed in a dormitory based on various qualities of his or her personality. The dormitories compete in Quiddich matches through the fall and their academic skills place them in friendly competition for the House Cup at the end of each school year. I think I've said enough, and I'll pass it onto either Mum or Jade." Petunia looked at the little girl with fear and disgust in her eyes, "Another one like Harry." Harry picked up Angel, "Yup, I am like Harry- I hope that when I get to be a student, I will be in the same dorm that he will have graduated from and that I will have adventures and be on the Quiddich team, just like Harry- 'cause Harry is a hero in our world." Vernon was aghast, "That _boy_ is a hero?" Jade rose to tell the story, "The dark wizard who killed Harry's parents is my father- of that I am not proud- but Harry, though just a baby at the time, somehow caused the curse to rebound back onto its originator. My father became without form for some time- he was weakened and in order to take shape he lived as a parasite in another body. Harry has faced him in this parasitic form, when my father took the form of his sixteen year old self he had somehow preserved in a diary, and finally in his own body which he recreated through a horrific process including the sacrifice of a man's arm. In each of these encounters, Harry has prevailed, saving lives as well. Unfortunately, my father killed a student during Harry's fourth year, sending us the message that he truly had returned. For the time, we are not worried about my father returning to Hogwarts or anywhere near- we believe that he is biding his time to plan something for a time much later than now. I assure you that he would not try anything while there are so many wizards in one place- he would fear getting his butt kicked." Anne laughed, "That would be a sight to see- all the parents and students gang up on your pa and stick him to the wall." Vernon was intrigued by the fact that Harry was a hero, "So, how well known is Harry?" Anne honestly answered, "Every wizard in our world knows his name." Jade let a small smile creep across her lips and handed Vernon an envelope, "Don't let the prospect of Harry's fame stand in your way. If you decide that you wish to come to our lovely home and school, then meet Hagrid at the place specified in this letter- bring your bags and such, all the dates, times, and instructions are contained herein. Details on how to recognize Hagrid are also contained in this envelope- I do indeed hope that you will join us." The visitors and Harry rose to leave, drifted out the door, and ventured back to Hogwarts.

Harry, Jade, Anne, and Angel arrived home in time for dinner. Harry addressed Anne and Jade before he and Angel split from them and went to Gryffindor table, "Thanks, Anne, Jade- I think that you did a good job today- they may actually come, if they feel that my fame can get them somewhere. At least they will be here; perhaps they will see that wizards aren't all that bad." Anne smiled and Jade spoke, "Even if they only come for fame, they will never see you in quite the same light again- especially if they talk trash around the Malfoys...."

Sunday, September fourteenth brought the arrival of parents at Hogwarts. Sure enough, the Dursleys came to Hogwarts, all three of them staying as far away from those who were obviously wizards as was humanly possible. It took all afternoon to settle everyone into their accommodations and they were allowed to mingle in the great hall until dinner was served on the south end of the building in the temporary parent dormitories. The students ate in the great hall, muttering and chattering about having their parents at school. Anne and Severus met after dinner to plan together for next week. They decided that for the house reunions on Monday, they would join the groups that they fit into and hope for the best. Anne was unsure about the art show, "Severus, I don't know if I should, I mean, my talent is not exactly akin to that of any of the greats, and I am not really too sure that it would be appreciated...." Severus was intrigued, "What is your art? You never have shown me." She rose and pulled a roll of muslin out from under her hammock. Severus watched as she set it on the edge of the table and unrolled it. She stood on a chair at the foot of the banner before her, "You can see it better from up here." She offered Severus a hand and he stood up on a chair beside the one she was on. He stared in amazement at the banner- Anne had painted the banner to look like old, weathered wood, and upon that, she had painted a cross with the points tipped with the fleur de leis. The centre of the cross had been hollowed out and within it was painted a view of the University she had attended with a gothic house in the foreground. The entire painting had the look of antiquity to it. Severus was, for a moment, speechless. Anne broke the silence, "I really don't think it compares at all to what you have done, but it is what I can do. I have a few more- most of them are from my time either at Cambridge, or just after when Angel and I found a church that we stayed in for nearly a week in Lancashire. Most of them are pretty dark, but considering the time I created them, they are appropriate." Angel bounded into the room and glanced at the table, "Well, this is really an improvement- you haven't showed these to a soul since you painted them and shipped them back to Elenore and Chloë's house." Severus turned to Angel, "Nigel brought them too, didn't he?" Angel nodded, "He brought a lot with him- some of it is just still in storage here in the castle." Severus returned his attention to Anne, "If these are not too personal, I would encourage you to show them in the art show. I myself have a little something that I will be showing, if Angel and yourself do not mind that you both are some of the subject matter." Angel helped Anne to climb down off the chair and then she scampered around to offer her hand to Severus, "Really? Wow- that's really neat! Mum, can he?" Anne nodded, "I see no reason not too." Severus nodded, "Then it is as good as done. Now, on to plans for the rest of the week." Anne pulled out her notebook, "Let's see, Tuesday are the tours of the school. I should probably lead one of those, but my knowledge of the history of this place is a bit shaky...you want to help?" Severus shrugged, "Why not? I wonder if Jade is running one of the tours." Angel had an answer, "She and Minerva are pairing up to give the history of Hogwarts- with Jade along, and it should be an interesting tour." Severus nodded, "What was planned for Wednesday?" Anne consulted her notebook, "It says here that we will be holding demonstration classes. Wow, you have a busy day- multiple classes and the parents there." He scowled, "Don't remind me." Anne had an idea, "You know, since I only hold class once and it is in the evening, perhaps Angel and I could help out, along with Jade. With three assistants, we can probably keep the accidents to a minimum, and provide enough help, if needed, to keep you sane." Severus dropped his scowl, "Annelise, I think you have proposed an acceptable solution." Anne smiled, "Thanks- do you want to drop by my class that afternoon? It promises to be interesting- we will be doing readings and such from material covered last year." He sat down on the couch, "That depends on how I feel at the end of the day. If I do not feel like hiding from the stupid questions that parents are prone to ask, then I may make an appearance." Angel, carrying Kath, plopped down beside Severus, "Oh, come on- it will be fun! I think that I am going to do a recitation from either **_Macbeth_** or **_Hamlet_** \- it depends on which one Jade wants to take." Kath clamoured up Angel and on to the back of the couch, then finding her way onto Severus' shoulder, "Angel, I will do my best so that I can hear you recite." Anne smiled; it was nice to see Angel and Severus interacting on a level other than student-teacher. She continued with scheduling, "We don't have to plan for the rest of the week- the student Quiddich showcase is on Thursday and the old timers' Quiddich match is on Friday. Saturday is the luncheon and then the parents depart. I think that we are all set!" She flopped onto the couch on Severus' other side, "Yeah, I think we can take 'em on- hey, are you on the Quiddich team, Severus?" He nodded, "I was, and for a while I played Seeker, but the Seeker that replaced me after an injury in my fifth year is here and I think that I will avoid argument and take my secondary position as Keeper. If you were on a team, what position would you play?" Anne thought for a moment, "Either Seeker or Beater- I can smack stuff pretty hard, but I have better reaction timing when I am hunting something. I think that Seeker would fit me well." Angel piped up, "Yeah, I think Seeker would fit you good too- after all, you've got that 'Mum-knows-all' thing going for your advantage and since Mum's have eyes on the back of their heads or something to keep kids out of trouble, they should be easily able to find a Golden Snitch." Anne laughed and checked the time, "Oh my, Angel, you should be getting ready for bed!" Angel moaned, but Severus nudged her as a prompt to stand up, "Listen to your mother, Angel, tomorrow is another day and the faster you sleep, the sooner it will be here for you to enjoy." Angel went off to behind the screen to get changed. Severus rose to leave, "Goodnight, Anne, sleep well- we have a busy week ahead of us!"

Anne awoke Monday to the sound of Angel and Kath playing with a string. Angel seemed to be enjoying herself as much as the cat was. Anne went to shower and dress, wearing her daily black dress. After arriving back in her chamber, she and Angel pulled out the banners and one by one laid them out on the table. Anne knew that her cross banner was going to be shown, but what about her others? The second one she found was a winter street scene as framed by the doors of the church she and Angel had been living in. The third banner displayed a view over a cliffs edge out to the sea. The fourth banner was Angel's favourite- it was a black dragon sleeping with no background or scenic detail, just the dragon. The fifth banner Anne unrolled was one that she was not going to display; she knew that too many people would find it disturbing. It was the Dark Mark painted in dark grey with scenes from her past life surrounding it and intertwining with the design. The scenes were framed in light grey and seemed to grow out of the slitherings of the Dark Mark. She found each scene and recalled their histories: a pair of Death Eaters torturing a Muggle, Voldemort casting some sort of spell, two bodies in a living room, the house that the Cambridge Death Eater's lived in, a view down the tunnel of the sewers with a silhouette running in the distance. It was quite a moving piece with the history that it held for Anne, but she knew that some of the parents would not be receptive of the images it portrayed. She went to see the art that the students had up for display.

During dinner, Anne hung her banners along the walls of the hallway where the staff set up their talents. Anne found Jade setting up a sewing mannequin and sliding her latest sewing project onto it. The dress was amazing, black fabric all hand beaded formed a fitted bodice dress with a full skirt attached, much in the same style as the skirt that Jade usually wore. The dress was held up by braided straps that capped the arm with beaded fringe. It was an unusual design, but Anne liked it. Together they went off to find Severus and his pictures. They rounded the corner and found him setting up his easels. He had not yet placed the paintings on them, so Jade and Anne helped him pull them from a crate and set them on the easels. Jade beamed at the first picture she pulled out, "This is so cool- Anne, you have to come look at this." Jade put the painting on the easel and stepped back. Anne let out a little laugh as she viewed the picture- there was Angel with the cat on one shoulder while leaning on the desk in Nigel's library, her drawing of the barn incomplete in front of her, crayons spread across it, a look of concentration across her face as she contemplated the drawing, ready to add in the next detail. Anne smiled at Severus, "How did you ever find out about that?" He shrugged and pulled a photograph from his crate and pinned it up on the corner of the painting, "Nigel snapped this photograph with Jade's Muggle spy camera." Jade had meanwhile set up another painting, this one of herself at the Belfast dance. She and Draco stood in the centre of the crowded dance floor, Jade with a look on her face that would kill, Draco across from her looking a little lost. The caption was priceless, " _You want to dance to make daddy happy? Well screw that!_ " Jade laughed, "How did you ever find out what I said while out there?" He shrugged, "Nigel wasn't too far off, you know, he heard the entire exchange." Jade blushed, "Oh- well...I hope that he didn't take any of it the wrong way...." Severus shook his head, "No- he was rather proud of you." Jade beamed and drew another piece of artwork from the crate. She handed it to Anne who placed it on an easel and stepped back to gaze at it in awe. It showed battered Anne laying on the couch in Severus and Nigel's room in Belfast with blankets draped over her, the low table in front of the couch still set with the tea things. The caption read, " _After a long day and an assault in the alley in Belfast._ " The last paintings were of the trip to London that Anne, Jade, and Angel and he had taken just before the start of classes- the first one showed Anne and Angel digging through the corner of Daniel's shop, Angel holding up her version of the Holy Grail and the punching dagger, while Anne had four swords over her shoulder and was holding a dagger up to the light. The second painting from London showed Angel, Anne, and Jade sitting around the table at the Leaky Cauldron admiring the blades that had been purchased earlier that day- Anne was checking on the line of the rapier, holding it up toward the light, Jade had the sabre unsheathed and was admiring the sharp end of the blade, while Angel had the two daggers in her hands, checking the balance on each one. The broadswords were only visible as their pommels stuck above the edge of the table where they leaned, and Angel's Grail sat in the middle of the table. The upper corner of the painting held the title, " _Admiring a day's finds in London._ " Anne smiled, "You certainly have a gift- these are wonderful. I love your style- it has an impressionist look- the sort of (oh, how do you put it?) lack of sharp lines and harsh focus of strict realism, yet the situations and subjects are entirely recognizable. I like it, I really do." He smiled quickly and escorted Anne and Jade back around the corner to their work. Jade showed him her beadwork- he liked the intricate designs and the grace with which they flowed around the dress. He was amazed by the three of Anne's banners that he had not previously seen. The street scene was his favourite, "I love the colours that you use- everything seems muted and dull, yet as we see in the people on the street, life goes on. The others are wonderful, make no mistake, the ocean looks so full of turmoil, even though the sky is clouded- your shading is remarkable. The dragon is neat- it looks like something that Jade would like to up and fly away on- but my favourite is still the street scene." After a word of luck for both Jade and Anne, he returned to his post to wait for the crowds to filter through the art show. Anne smiled at Jade, "Ever been to the artist district in any of the little country counties? Every once in a while on a random day the Bohemians gather together and pull their work onto the streets for a show- if the weather is good, they set up in a field somewhere. Angel and I went to a few, this reminds me of the one I went to that was tucked in an area like Portobello Road- artist in alleys between old stone buildings, awnings of tarpaulins tacked between the roofs to shelter the art from the rain- it was cold, and grey, but everyone was singing or laughing as numerous folk bands competed to see who could play the fastest reel or the best jig- it was like everyone was family...just like here."

Late that night, Anne removed her banners, rolled them up, and with Jade's help, took them to her classroom and lined the back wall with them. She also pinned up her Dark Mark banner- if it was to go anywhere, it was in that room where she first had revealed her history to the world. While they were working, Anne gestured to a mailing tube on her desk, "After this, do you want to help me plaster the wall opposite the windows with the posters in there?" Jade nodded, "Sure, I really don't feel like going to bed yet anyhow- what are they of?" Anne grinned, "That is my collection of Broadway posters- I have one for every show that I have ever seen and a few that I have not." By the time that they finished with their tasks, it was nearly two o'clock in the morning. Anne and Jade went back to their dungeon lairs and both flopped into bed.

Tuesday, Anne and Severus gave tours of the castle and answered questions posed by the parents on the tour. They were responsible for showing the parents the lower levels of Hogwarts, while other tour guides took groups around the rest of the school and grounds. All in all, it was a fairly un-extraordinary day.

Wednesday was the day that none of the staff members were particularly looking forward to. Anne and Angel helped the best they could with Severus' classes, and by some stroke of luck, no one asked too stupid a question and nothing exploded that wasn't supposed too. At three-thirty, Anne began her class, "Welcome everyone, I hope that so far your day has been enjoyable here. I am very glad to see that there are so many family members visiting my class today and we hope that you can follow what we are attempting to show off- most of the things we demonstrate today will be from last year's theatre section. I ask that each one of you students think of something theatrical that we have done either this year or last to show off to your family and friends. The order will be random. You have ten minutes to brain storm, thinking of multiple things to do in case that which you originally chose is taken by someone before you. You must think of something- this does count for an exam grade, and it is an easy 'A', so don't fluff off and you will be fine. If you wish to help one another with scenes or something, feel free. The rules: it has to be theatrical- if you do a film scene, adapt it for stage, if you do poetry, add your own flair, don't just read it, you may do music, you may dance, but if you do either of these, I expect it to either tell all or part of a story. Parents cannot be involved in the process, and props are allowed if they are in this room already- that does not include the broadswords, the rapier, the sabre, or the daggers mounted over my desk, unless I know you are trained. Any script, screenplay, or other publication that you can find on my shelves is up for grabs, but make sure you don't try something overcomplicated. Be creative, and have fun. Your time starts now."

Angel, who was sitting on Jade's desk, spun around to face her, "Alright, what should I do?" Jade laughed, "Is there anything that you have memorized already?" Angel nodded, "Yeah, most of **_Hamlet_** and some of **_Macbeth_** \- along with pieces of other things- why?" Jade nodded, "Do something you already know- it will make the task that much simpler." Angel tilted her head to the side, "What are you doing?" Jade pointed to the antique pages of a manuscript on her desk, "Anne and I discussed that before class- I will be doing the Yeats manuscript that Severus gave to Anne this summer," she paused, "Well, speak of the Devil- here is Severus now." Angel peered over her shoulder to watch as Severus greeted Anne and she motioned for him to sit at her desk. She handed him a script and scrawled on a piece of paper, " _Would you mind doing a bit of a reading from this with me?_ " He nodded and Anne scrawled a few act and line indications on the paper. She began to drift around the room, stopping at Jade, "Will you read a few lines for me? Severus and I are going to go first and I was wondering if you could read the lines of Danforth from a section of **_The Crucible_** for us." Jade nodded and Anne went on to Holli, "Will you read one line for the section Severus and I will be demonstrating?" Holli nodded and Anne went back to her desk to copy down the lines for Jade and Holli.

Anne called time and all eyes were once again on her, "To begin this demonstration, Professor Snape, Miss Riddle, Holli, and I will do a reading of selections from a play called **_The Crucible_** we will be studying later this year. Professor Snape will be playing the role of John Proctor, Jade will be playing the role of Judge Danforth, Holli will be playing the role of Mr. Paris, and I will be taking the role of Reverend Hale." She turned to her fellow actors, "Ready?" They nodded, "Alright, we begin with Act Two, lines eight hundred-sixty three through eight hundred-sixty nine." Severus rose and moved to the centre of the horseshoe, addressing Anne,

" _[Reverend Hale], is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God's fingers? I'll tell you what's walking Salem - vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!"_

Jade and Holli joined them, "Act Three, lines one thousand-ninety one through one thousand-one hundred-nineteen," Jade stated before she began her lines,

" _What are you, [Proctor]? You are combined with the anti-Christ, are you not? I have seen your power; you will not deny it! What say you, Mister?"_

Anne interrupted the coming answer,

" _Excellency-"_

And was herself cut off by Jade's continued tirade,

" _I will have nothing of you, Mr. Hale!_ "

Jade turned to Snape,

" _Will you confess yourself befouled with Hell, or do you keep that black allegiance yet? What say you?_ "

Snape responded, his voice beginning as though he were searching for words and ending with power,

" _I say - I say - God is dead!"_

Holli pointed with accusation,

" _Hear it, hear it!_ "

With a maddened laugh, Severus continued,

" _A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud - God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together!_ "

Jade's eyes burned,

" _Marshall! Take him and Corey with him to the jail!_ "

Anne turned on Jade,

" _I denounce these proceedings!_ "

Severus shouted back at Jade,

" _You are tearing down Heaven and raising up a whore!_ ”

Anne shouted,

" _I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!_ "

Anne stormed out of the horseshoe as Jade furiously called after her,

" _Mr. Hale! Mr. Hale!_ "

Severus, Jade, and Holli left the horseshoe and Anne re-entered, "Act Four, lines three hundred-thirty six through three hundred-fifty two.

 _Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I cane into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up. Beware, Goody Proctor - cleave no faith when faith brings blood. It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice. Life, woman, life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it. I beg you, woman, prevail upon your husband to confess. Let him give his lie. Quail not before God's judgment in this, for it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride._ "

Anne left the horseshoe, noticing that the Malfoys seemed to be glaring at her just a little more than usual- perhaps her monologue had touched a sensitive spot. Anne laughed inwardly at the thought as the inseparable trio began the applause, " _Rather than a sensitive spot, it is more likely that they read that as an attack on their style- the whole, 'No principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it' seems a bit contrary to the life of a Death Eater."_ The applause died down as Anne stood up to address her students, "Alright, who's next?" She saw Lucius strike Draco with the end of his cane. Draco winced, quickly recovered, and raised his hand, "I'll go, Anne." She nodded, "Thank you, Draco- what will you be presenting and who all is in your group?" He looked at the script, "According to this, Zack and I will be presenting two scenes from **_Die Hard_**. I've never heard of it, but the script was interesting, as far as I read." Anne grinned, "That is a screenplay- the film that it is for is one of my personal favourites- it is about a terrorist organization taking over a building to access the large sum of money in its vaults- the only problem is that someone in the building is very determined to keep the plot from succeeding." Draco shrugged, "Do scenes sixty three and sixty five sound familiar?" Anne shook her head, "I don't know all the scene numbers, but when you play it out, I am sure that I will recognize it! Go ahead, have at it." Zack and Draco pulled a desk and an extra chair into the horseshoe. Draco introduced himself, "I will be playing the part of the terrorist ringleader, Hans Gruber- my compatriot here, Zack, will be playing the part of Mr. Takagi, the owner of the firm that I am invading." Draco proudly entered the horseshoe, Zack already in it, looking puzzled. Draco began the scene,

" _And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept. For there were no more worlds to conquer. The benefits of a classical education._ "

He mimed looking at a model on a nonexistent table,

" _It's beautiful. I always enjoyed models as a boy. The exactness, the attention to every foreseeable detail...perfection._ "

Zack became defensive,

" _This is what this is about? Our building project in Indonesia? Contrary to what you people think, we're going to develop that region...not 'exploit' it._ "

Draco smiled at Zack,

" _I believe you. I read the article in Forbes._ "

He put his arm around Zack's shoulders and guided him to the desk,

" _Mr. Takagi, we could discuss industrialization of men's fashions all day, but I'm afraid_ _my associate, Mr. Theo, has some questions for you. Sort of fill-in-the blanks questions actually..._ "

Draco sat down, while Zack stood behind what would be his seat, looking at something offstage,

" _I don't have [the] code [for that computer]! You broke in here to access our computer?!? Any information you could get -- they wake up in Tokyo in the morning, they'll change it! You won't be able to blackmail our executives or threaten --_ "

Draco was getting an exasperated look on his face,

" _SIT DOWN!_ "

His voice suddenly became quiet and subdued, almost compassionate, in a mocking sort of way,

" _Mr. Takagi...I'm not interested in your computer. I'm interested in the 640 million dollars_ _in negotiable bearer bonds you have in you vault._ "

Zack looked shocked as Draco continued,

" _Yes...I know about them. The code key is a necessary step in accessing the vault._ "

Zack was bewildered,

" _You want...money? What kind of terrorists are you?_ "

Draco smiled, amused,

" _Who said we were terrorists?_ "

It was there that the scene ended, both Zack and Draco rising and taking a quick bow. Anne was beaming, "That was a wonderful interpretation of that sequence- the screenwriters would be proud!" She noticed the difference in the way the actors' parents responded- Zack's were proud and happy, while Draco's father looked as sour as ever, especially with added glares at Zack's parents, who were Muggles. Anne's eyes scanned her class, "So- who's next?" Ron jumped up, "We will be- Ginny, and Neville too- we are doing a section from the screenplay called **_Dead Poets Society_**. Neville told us that his Grandmother liked the film and that we should do a section from that, so we did. We did a scene that starts here, on page eighteen- we decided to call it 'Understanding Poetry'. Neville stood at the opening of the horseshoe with Ron sitting at a desk in the centre, facing him, with Ginny at a second desk pulled beside it. Neville began the scene,

" _Gentlemen, open your text to page twenty-one of the introduction. Mr. Perry, will you read the opening paragraph of the preface, entitled 'Understanding Poetry'?_ "

Ron mimed opening a book and he began to read,

" _Understanding Poetry, by Dr. J. Evans Pritchard, Ph.D. To fully understand poetry, we must first be fluent with its meter, rhyme, and figures of speech. Then ask two questions: One, how artfully has the objective of the poem been rendered, and two, how important is that objective. Question one rates the poem's perfection, question two rates its importance. And once these questions have been answered, determining a poem's greatest becomes a relatively simple matter._ "

Neville mimed finding a piece of chalk as Ron continued,

" _If the poem's score for perfection is plotted along the horizontal of a graph, and its importance is plotted on the vertical, then calculating the total area of the poem yields the measure of its greatness._ ”

Neville mimed drawing a graph on a blackboard and Ron kept reading,

" _A sonnet by Byron may score high on the vertical, but only average on the horizontal. A Shakespearean sonnet, on the other hand, would score high both horizontally and vertically, yielding a massive total area, thereby revealing the poem to be truly great. As you proceed through the poetry in this book, practice this rating method. As your ability to evaluate poems in this matter grows, so will - so will your enjoyment and understanding of poetry._ "

Neville turned from his blackboard,

" _Excrement. That's what I think of Mr. J. Evans Pritchard. We're not laying pipe, we're talking about poetry. I mean, how can you describe poetry likes American Bandstand? I like Byron, I give him a 42, but I can't dance to it. Now I want you to rip out that page._ "

Ron and Ginny looked at each other like Neville was insane,

" _Go on, rip out the entire page. You heard me, rip it out. Rip it out! Go on, rip it out. Thank you Mr. Dalton. Gentlemen, tell you what, don't just tear out that page, tear out the entire introduction. I want it gone, history. Leave nothing of it. Rip it out. Rip! Begone, J. Evans Pritchard, Ph.D. Rip, shred, tear. Rip it out. I want to hear nothing but ripping of Mr. Pritchard. We'll perforate it, put it on a roll._ "

Ginny was still hesitant, 

" _It's not the bible, you're not going to go to hell for this. Go on, make a clean tear, I want nothing left of it._ "

She turned to Ron,

" _We shouldn't be doing this._ "

Ron tore another page out,

 _"Rip, rip, rip!_ "

Neville encouraged,

" _Rip it out, rip!_ "

Meanwhile, Hermione, in a cameo appearance entered the horseshoe,

" _What the hell is going on here?"_

Neville seemed oblivious,

" _I don't hear enough rips._ "

Hermione acted as though she did not see Neville,

" _Mr. Keating._ "

Neville acknowledged her presence,

" _Mr. McAllister._ "

She was startled,

" _I'm sorry, I- I didn't know you were here._ "

Neville nodded,

" _I am._ "

Hermione turned to leave,

" _Ahh, so you are. Excuse me._ "

Neville returned his enthusiasm to Ron and Ginny,

" _Keep ripping gentlemen. This is a battle, a war. And the casualties could be your hearts and souls. Thank you Mr. Dalton. Armies of academics going forward, measuring poetry. No, we will not have that here. No more of Mr. J. Evans Pritchard. Now in my class you will learn to think for yourselves again. You will learn to savour words and language. No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world. I see that look in Mr. Pitt's eye, like nineteenth century literature has nothing to do with going to business school or medical school. Right? Maybe. Mr. Hopkins, you may agree with him, thinking "Yes, we should simply study our Mr. Pritchard and learn our rhyme and meter and go quietly about the business of achieving other ambitions." I have a little secret for ya. Huddle up. Huddle up!_ "

Ron and Ginny stood up and gathered around him,

" _We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are all noble pursuits, and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman: 'O me, o life of the questions of these recurring, of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities filled with the foolish. What good amid these, o me, o life?' Answer: that you are here. That life exists, and identity. That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse."_

He looked at Ginny, who had hesitated to tear a page from her book,

" _What will your verse be?_ "

Neville let the question hang in the air a moment before the party quitted the horseshoe. 

Anne began the applause and Neville approached her before he went back to his desk, "Why can I see you in Keating's place in that scene?" Anne laughed, "Because this film was one of my early influences- I took to it quickly." Hermione volunteered to go next, "I will be reciting the epilogues from two of Shakespeare's plays. First will be Prospero's speech from **_The Tempest_** and second will be Puck's ending from **_A Midsummer Night's Dream_**." She moved to the centre of the horseshoe and addressed her audience,

" _Now my charms are all o'erthrone,_  
And what strength I have's mine own,  
Which is most faint: now, 'tis true,  
I must here be confined by you,  
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,  
Since I have my dukedom got,  
And pardoned the deceiver, dwell  
In this bare island by your spells;  
But release me from my bands  
With the help of your good hands:  
Gentle breath of yours my sails  
Must fill, or else my project fails,  
Which was to please. Now I want  
Spirits to enforce, Art to enchant;  
And my ending is despair,  
Unless I be relieved by prayer,  
Which pierces so, that it assaults  
Mercy itself, and frees all faults.  
As you from crimes would pardoned be,  
Let your indulgence set me free."

She paused and waited for a second before starting the next epilogue,

" _If we shadows have offended,_  
Think but this, and all is mended,   
That you have but slumber'd here   
While these visions did appear.   
And this weak and idle theme,   
No more yielding but a dream,   
Gentles, do not reprehend:   
If you pardon, we will mend:   
And, as I am an honest Puck,   
If we have unearned luck   
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,   
We will make amends ere long;   
Else the Puck a liar call;   
So, good night unto you all.   
Give me your hands, if we be friends,   
And Robin shall restore amends."

She bowed as the applause came, this time starting with Harry and Ron, and escaped the horseshoe back to her desk. Anne grinned, "Wonderful on both counts, but I think that you put more of yourself into Robin Goodfellow's speech." Hermione smiled, "I did." Anne nodded, "It suits you better, to be Puck rather than Prospero." She looked to the rest of her class, "Who is next?" Elenore, Susan, and Cho stood up, "We will be, Anne- do you have your accompaniment music here?" Anne motioned for Severus to look under the desk, "Somewhere under there is the laptop I had this summer- yes, that's it, thanks." She opened the laptop, turned it on, and waited a moment, "Just give me a second- it needs to load. Why don't you introduce your act first?" The girls nodded and Elenore began the introductions, "We will be singing the conclusion of **_Little Shop of Horrors_** , with all the harmony and everything. We will each be singing solo lines throughout the song." Anne nodded to the girls, "Whenever you are ready, cue me and we will be ready to go." They took their places and Anne started their accompaniment,

" _Subsequent to the events you have just witnessed_  
Similar events in cities across America  
Events which bore a striking resemblance  
To the ones you have just seen- began occurring  
  
Subsequent to the events you have just witnessed,  
Unsuspecting jerks from Maine to California  
Made the acquaintance of a new breed of flytrap  
And got sweet-talked into feeding it blood.  
  
Thus the plants worked their terrible will  
Finding jerks who would feed them their fill  
And the plants proceeded to grow and grow- and grow  
And begin what they came here to do"

Elenore took her solo,

_"Which was essentially to_  
Eat Cleveland  
And Des Moines  
And Peoria  
And New York  
And [Hogwarts]!"

And then did Susan,

_"They may offer you fortune and fame_  
Love and money and instant acclaim  
But whatever they offer you  
Don't feed the plants"

And finally Cho,

_"They may offer you lots of cheap thrills_  
Fancy condos in Beverly Hills  
But whatever they offer you  
Don't feed the plants"

All three rejoined for the ending of the song,

_"Look out! Here comes Audrey Two!_  
Look out!  
Here I come for you!  
Hold your hat and hang on to your soul  
Something's coming to eat the world whole  
If we fight it we've still got a chance  
But whatever they offer you  
Though they're slopping the trough for you  
Please, whatever they offer you  
Don't feed the plants  
[They]'ll have tomorrow  
Don't feed the plants!  
Don't feed the plants."

Hermione's parents started the applause this time, agreeing amongst themselves that the girls probably had done the best rendition of that song since the original Broadway cast that somehow the Granger's had attended. Anne waited for Cho, Susan, and Elenore to be seated before asking for the next volunteer. Harry shrugged and rose, "I guess I can go. With a little help from Ron, Jadelyn, and Neville, we will be showing you a part from **_Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail_**. Anne showed us the film last year during our Arthurian studies. It was quite amusing. I will be playing Arthur, Jade is playing Patsy, Ron and Neville are playing soldiers. Here goes!" 

Harry galloped into the horseshoe with Jade using two bowls as coconuts- he called to Jade,

" _Whoa there!_ "

Standing on top of Jade's desk was Ron,

" _Halt! Who goes there?_ " he called to Harry.

Harry called back with confidence,

" _It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, from the castle of Camelot. King of all Britons, defeater of the Saxons, sovereign of all England!_ "

Ron paused and then called down to Harry,

" _Get away!_ "

Harry was a bit puzzled as he continued the introduction,

" _I am... And this my trusty servant, Patsy. We have ridden the length and breadth of the land in search of knights who will join our court at Camelot.. I must speak with your lord and master._ "

Ron did not sway in his stance, confused also by this introduction,

" _What? Ridden on a horse?_ "

Harry affirmed his position,

" _Yes!_ "

Ron looked at Harry as though he were insane,

" _You're using coconuts!_ "

Harry acted like he had not heard Ron correctly,

" _...What?"_

Ron extended his accusation,

" _You've got two empty halves of coconuts and you're banging them together._ "

Harry responded scornfully,

" _So? We have ridden since the snows of winter covered this land, through the kingdom of Mercea._ "

Ron was really confused,

" _Where did you get the coconuts?_ "

Harry still defended his position,

" _Through ... We found them._ "

Ron's confusion was not helped any by this, his face displayed his befuddlement clearly,

" _Found them? In Mercea. The coconut's tropical!_ "

It was Harry's turn to be slightly puzzled,

" _What do you mean?_ "

Ron explained the cause of his confusion,

" _Well, this is a temperate zone._ "

Harry did not find this the least bit relevant to the confusion,

" _The swallow may fly south with the sun, or the house martin or the plover seek warmer hot lands in winter, yet these are not strangers to our land._ "

Ron looked at Harry like he was quite mad,

" _Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?_ "

Harry continued his explanation logically,

" _Not at all. They could be carried._ "

Ron still thought that Harry had gone daft,

" _What? A swallow carrying a coconut?_ "

Harry did not see anything unusual with this,

" _Why not?_ "

Ron looked at him exasperated,

 _"I'll tell you why not ... because a swallow is about eight inches long and weighs five ounces, and you'd be lucky to find a coconut under a pound._ "

Harry persisted,

" _It could grip it by the husk ..._ "

So did Ron,

" _It's not a question of where he grips it, It's a simple matter of weight - ratios ... A five-ounce bird could not hold a one pound coconut._ "

Harry dismissed the topic,

" _Well, it doesn't matter. Go and tell your master that Arthur from the Court of Camelot is here._ "

There was a slight pause with Ron not moving an inch before he responded to Harry,

" _Look! To maintain velocity, a swallow needs to beat its wings four hundred and ninety three times every second. right?_ "

Harry got irritated,

" _Please!_ "

Ron did not let the subject drop,

" _Am I right?"_

Harry still dismissed him,

_"I'm not interested."_

Neville joined Ron on the desk,

_"It could be carried by an African swallow!"_

Ron nodded,

_"Oh yes! An African swallow maybe ... but not a European swallow. that's my point."_

Neville agreed,

_"Oh yes, I agree there ..."_

Harry was losing his patience,

" _Will you ask your master if he wants to join the Knights of Camelot?!"_

Ron continued his discussion with Neville,

" _But then of course African swallows are non-migratory."_

Neville agreed,

" _Oh yes._ "

Harry rolled his eyes toward Heaven and motioned to Jade. They turned and left the horseshoe with gallops and the clip-clop of Jade's bowl coconuts. Ron and Neville still sat on the desk, Ron drawing a conclusion,

" _So they wouldn't be able to bring a coconut back anyway._ "

Neville thought for a moment and then came up with another idea,

" _Wait a minute! Suppose two swallows carried it together?"_

Ron pondered that and then discovered a chink in the logic,

" _No, they'd have to have it on a line._ "

There was a moment of silence before all four of the actors came out and took a quick bow for their scene. 

Jade resumed her post on her desk and waited for the next volunteer. Brittany went to the centre and was joined by Draco, "We are going to do a scene from **_Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead_** , by Tom Stoppard. I will be Rosencrantz, and Draco will be playing Guildenstern." They went to the centre of the horseshoe, Brittany standing and Draco sitting on top of his desk. Brittany began the scene,

" _Do you ever think of yourself as actually_ dead _, lying in a box with a lid on it?"_

Draco shook his head,

" _No._ "

Brittany continued,

" _Nor do I, really....It's silly to be depressed by it. I mean one thinks of it like being_ alive _in a box, one keeps forgetting to take into account the fact that one is_ dead _...which should make all the difference...shouldn't it? I mean, you'd never_ know _you were in a box, would you? It would be just like being_ asleep _in a box. Not that I'd like to sleep in a box, mind you, not without any air- you'd wake up dead, for a start, and then where would you be? Apart from inside a box. That's the bit I don't like, frankly. That's why I don't think of it...."_

Draco shifted restlessly as she went on,

" _Because you'd be helpless, wouldn't you? Stuffed in a box like that, I mean you'd be in there for ever. Even taking into account the fact that you're dead, it isn't a pleasant thought._ Especially _if you're dead, really..._ ask _yourself, if I asked you straight off- I'm going to stuff you in this box now, would you rather be alive or dead? Naturally, you'd prefer to be alive. Life in a box is better than no life at all. I expect. You'd have a chance, at least. You could lie there thinking- well, at least I'm not dead! In a minute someone's going to bang on the lid and tell me to come out. 'Hey you, whatsyername! Come out of there!'"_

Draco jumped off the desk and shouted,

" _You don't have to flog it to death!_ "

He settled back down as she began again,

" _I wouldn't think about it, if I were you. You'd only get depressed. Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where's it going to end? Two early Christians chanced to met in Heaven, 'Saul of Tarsus yet!' cried one. 'What are_ you _doing here?!'...'Tarsus-Schmarsus,' replied the other, 'I'm Paul already.'"_

She paced restlessly and flapped her arms at her sides,

" _They don't care. We count for nothing. We could remain silent till we're green in the face, they wouldn't come._ "

Draco shrugged,

" _Blue, red._ "

Brittany continued,

" _A Christian, a Moslem and a Jew chanced to meet in a closed carriage...'Silverstein!' cried the Jew. 'Who's your friend?'...'His name's Abdullah,' replied the Moslem, 'but he's no friend of mine since he became a convert.'"_

She stamped and shouted out to the audience, right toward the Malfoys,

" _All right, we know you're in there! Come out talking!_ "

She paused and continued back to her rambling,

" _We have no control. None at all.... Whatever became of the moment when one first know about death? There must have been one, a moment, in childhood when it first occurred to you that you don't go on for ever. It must have been shattering- stamped into one's memory. And yet I can't remember it. It never occurred to me at all. What does one make of that? We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it, before we know that there are words, out we come, bloodied and squalling with the knowledge that for all the compasses in the world, there's only one direction, and time is its only measure."_

She paused, reflective, her pace becoming more frantic and desperate,

" _A Hindu, a Buddhist, and a lion tamer chanced to meet, in a circus on the Indo-Chinese border. They're taking us for granted! Well, I won't stand for it! In future, notice will be taken."_

She addressed the audience again,

" _Keep out, then! I forbid anyone to enter! That's better..."_

A fanfare rang out from offstage- it came from Goyle. Draco shook his head and spoke the last line of the scene,

" _Death followed by eternity...the worst of both worlds. It_ is _a terrible thought."_

They took their bows and left to applause.

Anne waited for someone else to take centre stage. Holli stood and made her introduction, "Hello, folks, my name is Holli MacCumhail, and I am in my seventh year- last year I was supposed to sing the narration in the end of year musical that Anne's class presented, but ended up nearly losing my voice and swapping parts with Jade instead. She has quite a different singing style than me, along with not having an Irish accent, so I am going to sing a little bit of the narration from **_Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat_**." Holli began to sing without accompaniment,

_“Way, way back many centuries ago_  
Not long after the Bible began  
Jacob lived in the land of Canaan  
A fine example of a family man  
  


_Jacob, Jacob and sons_  
Depended on farming to earn their keep  
Jacob, Jacob and sons  
Spent all of their days in the field with sheep  
  


_Jacob was the founder of a whole new nation_  
Thanks to the number of children he had  
He was also known as Israel but most of the time  
His sons and his wives used to call him dad  
  


_Jacob, Jacob and sons_  
Men of the soil, of the sheaf and crook  
Jacob, Jacob and sons  
A remarkable family in anyone's book  
  


_Reuben was the eldest of the children of Israel_  
With Simeon and Levi the next in line  
Napthali and Isaachar with Asher and Dan  
Zebulun and Gad took the total to nine  
Jacob, Jacob and sons  
Benjamin and Judah which leaves only one  
Jacob, Jacob and sons  
Joseph Jacob's favourite son  
  


_Jacob, Jacob and sons_  
Jacob, Jacob and sons  
Jacob, Jacob and sons  
Jacob, Jacob, Jacob, Jacob and sons!

Holli took a theatrical bow and left the horseshoe, leaving everyone wondering where the Holli had gotten such energy- after all, she was not a bouncy energetic girl by nature, rather harder working, and her stature suggesting that she was from a family that worked the land. Holli was a tall, solidly built girl with strong arms and a beautifully curved body that, as she once said, "Attracts far more stares than it's worth." Her fair skin and mass of red curly hair suggested everything Irish, as well did her emerald eyes. All things considered, she looked like she probably could have been related to Angel. Her parents reflected these observations- her mother having a similarly built figure and the same skin and hair, while her father had the same flaming red hair, but a ruddier look to him, as though he was a sailor. Both Holli's parents were obviously proud of what their girl had just belted out, her mother congratulating her with her low Irish voice and her father nodding and uttering, "That's me girl, that's me girl...." Anne smiled at the family and tilted her head in greeting, then, turning her attention back to the class, "Alright, then, we have a few more to go, no?" Jade rose gracefully from her seat- Angel hopping down to stand beside her. Jade put her arm around her little friend and began to recite from memory,

_"I will arise and go now to Innisfree,_  
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;  
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,  
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.  
  
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,  
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;  
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,  
And evening full of the linnet's wing.  
  
I will arise and go now, for always night and day  
I hear lake water lapping with low sound by the shore;  
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,  
I hear it in the deep heart's core."

Jade sat down, leaving the room hanging in silence for a moment. Then Angel began to clap, and soon all were with her- Anne had her eyes closed and the Yeats manuscript held to her heart. When she opened her eyes, there was the glimmer of a tear in them, "Thank you, Jadelyn- I needed that, to travel back to Innisfree. Who is left? Crabbe, Goyle- are you going to present today, or have you chosen not to participate?" They shook their heads and shrank back slightly in their seats, "Alright, Angelique, will you please close the 'guest week performances' series?" Anne said with a little grin, still holding the manuscript, but having let it sink to her lap. Angel navigated to the centre of the horseshoe and, being sure to stand far enough toward the entrance as not to turn her back to the audience, began her work, "Hi, I am Angelique Marie LeFay, fond fan of all antiquity, Romantic Revivalist, and Shakespearian thespian, although I will play other roles as well. I will be reading from 'The Scottish Play', Act four, scene one, lines one through thirty eight." She took a deep breath and began.

" _Thrice the brinded cat hat mewed._  
Thrice, and once the hedge-pig whined.  
Harpier cries ''Tis time, 'tis time!'  
Round about the cauldron go;  
In the poisoned entrails throw.  
Toad that under cold stone  
Days and nights has thirty-one  
Sweltered venom sleeping got,  
Boil thou first i' th' charmèd pot.  
  


_Double, double toil and trouble;_  
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.  
  


_Fillet of a fenny snake_  
In the cauldron boil and bake.  
Eye if newt and toe of frog,  
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,  
Adder's fork and blindworm's sting,  
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,  
For a charm of powerful trouble,  
Like a hell broth boil and bubble.  
  


_Double, double toil and trouble;_  
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.  
  


_Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,_  
Witch's mummy, maw and gulf  
Of the ravined salt-sea shark,  
Root of hemlock digged i' th' dark,  
Liver of a blaspheming Jew,  
Gall of goat and slips of yew  
Slivered in the moon's eclipse,  
Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,  
Finger of a birth-strangled babe  
Ditch-delivered by a drab,  
Make the gruel thick and slab.  
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron  
For th' ingredience of our cauldron.  
  


_Double, double toil and trouble;_  
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.  
  


_Cool it with a baboon's blood.  
Then the charm is firm and good."_

Angel bowed quickly and scampered back to where she was sitting on top of Jade’s desk.   
Anne applauded for her daughter and waited for the rest of the audience to finish doing the same. Once they had, she spoke, “Let’s have one more round of applause for all of our talented students.” She waited for all the clapping to subside and then continued, “It is after our usual ending time, so after a few announcements, I will dismiss everyone.” She slid off the desk where she had been sitting and entered the horseshoe, “Any of you who did not participate today, if you wish to try to make up the grade, please speak to me before Monday. Other news, I will expect to see you all at the Quiddich competitions this week, they promise to be wonderful fun. Also, there will be no class until Monday when we will begin work on Shakespeare’s **_Macbeth_**. Once again, there is a classroom set of books available, but if you have your own copy that you would like to notate in and read out of, please feel free to bring it. I will probably not have your exams from last week graded yet, so be patient with me- as soon as I do get those graded, I will return them to you- as soon as I have the time, I will get you a list of the plays that we will be reading this semester, in case you would like to read them ahead of time in order to ask questions of me before hand. That will be all for now, class dismissed!” 

No mass exodus of students flowed from the room, only the Malfoy’s, the Gwyn’s, the Crabbe’s, and the Goyle’s left in a hurry- everyone else wanted to introduce their families to Anne, or the families wanted to be introduced by their students. Anne was flattered and overjoyed to watch her students’ families mingle and discuss theatre, their students, and the performances they had just borne witness to. Hermione’s parents were quite content in finding that the MacCumhails, even though they were a strong Irish Wizarding family, were still fond of theatre in all its glory, and thought it the most wonderful profession outside the wizard world. The Weasleys chatted with the Branstones, Neville’s grandmother along with them. Cho’s parents were delighted by Zack’s parents- only the Dursleys kept away from the crowd. Susan’s guardians were deep into a conversation with Anne about the benefits of the Arts in the lives of children when there came a knock on the doorframe. In it stood Lucius Malfoy, motioning to Jade. She came and stood opposite him, her arms crossed over her chest defensively, “Yeah? What do you want?” He gave her a ‘speak-to-me-with-respect’ look that Jade answered with a ‘bow-down-and-kiss-my-feet’ look. He stood his ground, “Miss Riddle, I would warn that teacher of yours and your precious Potions Master that your father may just decide to check in on you sometime this week.” He turned to leave, Jade called after him, he stopped to listen, “Malfoy- a few words of advice: One, I couldn’t care less if my father checks up on me- I hope he is greatly displeased; two, he’s not my ‘precious Potions Master’- he’s my uncle, and more family to me than that dolt I call father; and three, tell ‘daddy V.’ that he can just drop dead and stay out of our way, because I am not going to stand for any interruptions to my life- I will fight back if I have to, as will the rest of my family. Have a nice day.”

Thursday was the big day for the students to show their spirit at the day long Quiddich tournament. Each house would play each other house, the winner of the day receiving an extra one hundred house points toward the house cup. Anne sat with the staff, between Severus and Angel, Jade on the other side of Angel. The first match was to be between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. The teams took the field and the game began, everyone screaming for his or her house, each one of the staff members cheering for all the students- although it was rather obvious that house heads were biased toward their team, and why not, the winner was a step closer to the house cup at the end of the year. The first game was over before it really began; Hufflepuff receiving a sound beating from Gryffindor- it was theorized to be one of the shortest games in Hogwarts history. The second game was not so short- Ravenclaw took on Slytherin. It turned into a very physical game not a minute in when Slytherin’s beater slammed a bludger at the Ravenclaw chaser, causing a very indignant Zack, as Ravenclaw’s seeker, to cut in front of the beater, causing him to be forced into evasive manoeuvres that ended up with a collision with Slytherin’s chaser. Both the chaser and the beater were out of the rest of the game. Shortly after, a bludger slammed into Zack’s broom, sending him spinning out of control and into the sand beneath the Slytherin hoops. He remounted his broom and was back in the game as soon as possible, sailing after the recently sighted Snitch in Draco’s wake. Both boys sped on as fast as humanly possible, waiting for their chance to grab the victory in their outstretched hands. Draco reached out as far as he could and aimed for his prize when a bludger hit his broom, sending him flying off of it into one of the support beams for the Ravenclaw stands, which rose as a great tide with an uproarious cheer as Zack snatched the Snitch and sailed rejoicing around the field. Anne had left her seat before the celebration to help Draco- none of his fellow Slytherins were going to. Severus went with her. Lucius and Narcissa watched from afar. Anne was the first to reach Draco, even before Poppy. Anne’s biggest worry came from the fact that Draco had not yet sat up. She knelt down and helped him up slowly, “Draco- careful, don’t rush-” Snape nodded, “Can you stand up?” Anne helped Draco to rise, wincing as he did, “I’ll be fine- I just have to wait a little.” Snape shook his head, “You don’t have that liberty- the game against Hufflepuff is next, then you have two games to sit out and rest.” Anne was not too pleased with the prospect of letting him play, but instead of pushing her case, she simply addressed Draco, “If you feel up to playing, then go ahead, but be careful.” Draco nodded, “I really don’t have much of a choice- if I skip out a game, not only is my teem on the out, but my father will probably be very, um, disappointed- Anne, I am so glad you aren’t like my parents, giving me the option and all- father would have just told me to ignore it and get back to work.”

The third game was Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Draco insisted on playing despite his injury. Despite the problem, Slytherin still trounced Hufflepuff. The fourth game was Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. Zack did not play entirely well, he was still a bit shook up by his encounter with the bludger the last game, and Harry was playing exceptionally well. Gryffindor won with a long shot. The fifth game, Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw, ended as a close game between the two teams, Zack recovering from his encounter. 

The last game was the much anticipated Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match-up. This game was nearly as rough as the Ravenclaw and Slytherin game. The other players were running into each other right and left, each team keeping the other scoreless well into the game. Draco and Harry spotted the Snitch at the same time, riding without a broom’s width between them. Neither of them noticed the bludger that nailed Draco in the ribs and carried him off his broom. Harry swiped the Snitch from the air, held it up so Madam Hooch could see, and then jumped down of his broom to check on Draco. Meanwhile, Anne had already leapt down the stairs and was on the Quiddich Pitch. “Draco, don’t move, just stay still. What hurts?” He smiled weakly at her, “Mother’s not here yet?” Anne glanced at the Slytherin stands where Narcissa was tugging at Lucius’ sleeve, “No, not yet.” Draco winced as he took a deep breath, “My ribs- I think it broke my ribs.” Snape had come up behind her and knelt with her beside Draco. He watched Draco’s chest rise and fall, noticing the irregular motion of his ribs. Anne placed her hand on Draco’s shoulder, “There is no way you are moving until Poppy comes and checks you out. Just stay still.” He closed his eyes and tried to relax. Poppy finally fought her way through the crowd of students milling around Draco, Anne, and Severus. The Gryffindor students asked each other if their classmate was alright, while the Slytherin students muttered about losing the game. Dumbledore walked through the crowd to where Poppy, Severus, and Anne attended to Draco- he was followed by Lucius and Narcissa. Albus addressed the crowd, “Please go back to the school; Madam Pomfrey will take care of this.” The crowd dispersed as the prefects lead their houses back to the school. Narcissa knelt down opposite Anne, Severus, and Poppy, “Will he be alright?” Poppy nodded, “Yes, if you wait a moment I can fix him right up- the bones will heal easily enough, but he will still be sore for a few days.” Narcissa nodded as her husband tapped her shoulder with his walking stick from behind, “Get up, Narcissa.” She did as she was told and left with him, hesitant to leave her son injured. Severus rose and offered Anne his hand as Poppy began her work on Draco. Anne accepted his hand and stood, watching Poppy the entire time. When Draco was finally able to stand, the first thing he did was approach Anne, “Thanks for playing the mother with me.” Then he thanked Poppy and Dumbledore and walked back to the school carrying his Quiddich things. 

The next day was Friday. All the parents divided up into houses except those who did not attend Hogwarts to decide who would be on their revival Quiddich teams. Most of the positions were filled by those who had been on the house teams during their days at Hogwarts. Just before the games were to begin, someone from Gryffindor house approached Anne, “Miss- a moment?” She nodded, “No problem.” The person smiled, “We were wondering if you played Quiddich, considering our Seeker was murdered.” Anne’s eyes lit up, “I do- I’ll admit that I haven’t played in some time, but I would be glad to help.” The questioner laughed, “Most of us haven’t played in at least twenty years, considering you aren’t much older than that, you have played more recently than the rest of us.”

Anne pulled the broom that Angel had given her for Christmas from her belongings. She polished the handle quickly and trimmed the bristles. She then dashed up to Gryffindor house where her team was assembled. On the way she ran into Narcissa Malfoy, “Oh, sorry, ma’am!” Narcissa laughed, “Don’t worry- and thank you for the help you gave to Draco- my husband is not the most sympathetic of beings. Good luck in the game today.” Anne grinned, “Thanks, I think that I’ll need it.” She continued to Gryffindor house to seek out her team. Upon entering the common room, the person who had drafted her for the team rose, “Welcome, Ms. Schetzek- I am Clarence Townsler, I spoke to you last in class, I am Susan Bone’s guardian and captain of this team. I will be playing Chaser along with Matilda Creevey, Colin and Dennis’ mother, and Markus Branstone, Elenore’s father. On your left is Merri Brown, Lavender’s mother, and our Keeper. Behind her is Aiden Creevey, Colin and Dennis’ father, one of our Beaters. Our other Beater is on your right, Carrie Dobbs, Emma’s grandmother and Quiddich captain of her day. Everyone, Ms. Schetzek will be our Seeker. I already spoke to Madam Hooch and the addition of her to our team was approved. It has been years since we each played Quiddich, in Carrie’s case, it has been quite a few years. We have had no practice and are probably all wondering how we are going to pull this off. I have a bit of news, folks, James Potter’s planbook from when he was captain still exists.” A cheer rose from the team, “Even better is that I have it here- he left it at our last game and told me to use it after he graduated since I was a year behind him grade-wise. I used it, we won the house cup my last year. With Carrie’s help, we went through the book last night and figured out a strategy. For each game we will have a different plan, but for the Slytherin game we will be using the game-plan that beat Slytherin five years running.” Another cheer rose from the team, “Alright, let’s do this thing!”

The games began, falling in the same order as the student games. Gryffindor soundly stomped Hufflepuff in their first game, even though everyone was getting used to playing the game after so much time. Ravenclaw and Slytherin battled it out to end the game with a collision between a beater from each team and Slytherin pulling ahead in the last minute to catch the Snitch and win the game. Hufflepuff was once again beaten soundly by the powerful Slytherin team. Anne and the Gryffindor team once again took the field for their match with Ravenclaw. Despite the Ravenclaw team’s attempts, Gryffindor once again established dominance, this time by taking an early lead and Anne sighting the Snitch soon after. The team once again retreated to their strategy to work on memorizing James’ plan to guarantee victory. They still had not seen who was on the Slytherin team. Merri and Clarence put their heads together, “The Seeker for Slytherin will either be Snape or Malfoy- Snape played for five years and then when a younger Lucius arrived on the team he shoved Snape to Keeper, even after Snape recovered from an injury- it is most likely that Lucius is maintaining the pecking order. The Beaters will be Crabbe and Goyle. I am guessing that the Bulstrode woman will be a Chaser, along with her husband and sister.” Anne grimaced, “Tough line-up. We’re going to have to be on our toes and make sure that we know where all members of the team are at all times.” Her team members all agreed with nods. Meanwhile, Hufflepuff was getting another trouncing by Ravenclaw. Then it was time for Slytherin and Gryffindor to face each other in the hardest match of the entire day. Everyone was screaming for the teams as they launched out of their starting bays and circled the field. Many of the Slytherins taunted Anne about her Cleansweep, but she kept up with the best of them, diving under Lucius as she took her position and spiralled around him, causing him to duck and pause a moment before he took his position on the field, hovering above the rest of the players staring at Anne with a glare that would usually shrivel someone- Anne, however, was not even intimidated. Ever team member was sharp as a tack, the Quaffle flying everywhere around the field, the game scoreless until after ten minutes, Dominique Bulstrode pushing past Merri to score. The game was soon tied when Clarence, Aiden, and Carrie all flew in formation to deliver the Quaffle to the hoops and two Bludgers toward Snape. Goyle and Crabbe got into their places in time to block Snape from being smashed, but not in time to block the Quaffle from flying through to score. They were tied. Another ten minutes passed before anything else happened. There was no scoring, but the game was exciting without a doubt- with everyone diving and spinning around the Quiddich Pitch, blocking and battering one another with Bludgers. No one was ever still for more than five seconds. Finally, at the end of those ten minutes, something happened- Snape’s broom darted to the side. Anne watched for a moment to see if anything else would happen. It did- the broom darted to the other side. Anne moved slightly in his direction when suddenly his broom began to fall into a steep dive. He tried to pull up, but no avail. Anne sped in his direction, knowing that there was no way that he would survive the immanent crash. She pushed her broom to the limit of its speed, sliding forward on the broom so that he would be able to sit behind her. She glanced around the crowd to see if she could spot the cause of the trouble. In the Slytherin crowd she spotted a suspect- a man enshrouded in black. Anne knew in the back of her mind who it was. She was skimming low to the ground, nearly to him when she shouted, “Severus- jump on!” She brought her broom into an up curved arch to meet him and he, barely balancing while standing on his steeply inclined broom, dove off and caught the back of her broom as she rose, swinging up onto the broom to sit behind her, his broom smashing into the ground, only the tail end of it protruding from the grass. He grabbed her shoulders as she sped forward and around to the right, “Hang on, Severus, I have a job to do…” She sped forward, soon finding herself riding along next to Lucius after the Snitch. He sneered at her, she grinned back. He sped up to try to pull ahead while Anne did the same. Somehow her little Cleansweep carrying two people managed not only to keep up with Lucius, but pull slightly ahead. She reached forward and plucked the Snitch from the air, brining her broom up to the level of the crowd, circling the Pitch, everyone in all houses, but especially Gryffindor and Slytherin on their feet screaming. Lucius was furious at the loss, and especially that he saw his son cheering for Anne, nudging his friends to do the same. Anne landed and Severus immediately dismounted. He was very grateful for Anne, but did not want anyone to see their relationship as anything but friendship. The Slytherin team grumbled away, but Severus stayed with Anne for a bit, watching as her team-mates enthusiastically congratulated her on both the win and the rescue full of hugs. They raised her on their shoulders along with Severus and carried them both out of the Pitch.

That night, Jade entered Anne’s chambers, “Anne, nearly everyone who has been here all week is going insane and we need to get a bit of stress out here- is there anyway that you can reassemble the sound system you have stashed in this building so we can have a dance in the Great Hall?” Anne put down the quill that she was scribbling with and turned to Jade, “Honey, I think that is just what we need.” Jade grinned, “Yes! O.K., I have already had the gang start clearing out the Great Hall. You do your part next- ours is done.” Anne went to bring her sound system from storage and found the Great Hall not only emptied of tables, but the hall was decorated in drapes of Christmas lights along the walls. She put her equipment on the platform where the Head Table usually sat and set up her speakers. Within twenty minutes, the system was up and Jade approached her again, “Just start playing music and dancers will come- trust me, they will come.” Anne smiled, “I hope so….” She clicked on a line in her computer’s media list and **_Loves Me Like A Rock_** began to play. It was a fun song to hear, and Anne enjoyed sitting back behind her D.J. station and watching the students who had been hanging around begin to dance. Jade, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and Zack all had formed a circle and were dancing together, singing the song as they did. Anne kept the music flowing with another fast song, this one by the Brian Setzer Orchestra, **_Jump, Jive, and Wail_**. Anne watched people filter in, drawn by the loud, driving beat of the swing music that filled the Great Hall and the passageways beyond. She switched genres and then played **_Mindfields_** , a driving techno pulse that began to tone down the hyper motion of the students, parents, and staff that had all been part of the fun from the prior song. Anne melded into a slower song, **_Building a Mystery_** , and then even slower with a John Denver song. She felt a light tap on her shoulder as she set up the play list to cross-fade from **_Building a Mystery_** to her next song. She turned around to see Severus standing behind her, “Would you care to dance this song with me?” She took his offered hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. They began to dance and Anne blushed slightly as the song began, “Don’t take this the wrong way- I didn’t know this was the song that was coming on.” She looked away from his eyes as the verse began,

_Perhaps love is like a resting place  
_ _A shelter from the storm  
_ _It exists to give you comfort  
_ _It is there to keep you warm  
_ _In those times of trouble  
When you are most alone  
_ _The memory of love will bring you home_

_Perhaps love is like a window  
_ _Perhaps and open door  
_ _It invites you to come closer  
_ _It wants to show you more  
_ _And even if you lose yourself  
_ _And don’t know what to do  
_ _The memory of love will see you through_

_Oh love to some is like a cloud  
_ _To some is strong as steel  
_ _To some a way of living  
_ _For some a way to feel  
_ _And some say love is holding on  
_ _And some say letting go  
_ _And some say love is everything  
_ _And some say they don’t know_

_Perhaps love is like the ocean  
_ _Full of conflict, full of change  
_ _Like a fire when it’s cold outside  
_ _Or thunder when it rains  
_ _If I should live forever  
_ _And all my dreams come true  
_ _My memories of love will be of you_

By the end of the song she found herself lost in his eyes, watching the turbulence of his soul within. Somehow she could see his heart, and what she saw there scared her- not darkness, but a light bursting forth that she was unprepared for. At the close of the final note, she broke her gaze from his, thanked him, and brought him back to the D.J. station with her. She continued playing music through the night, watching as everyone, parents, students, and teachers mingled and laughed together. All was well until midnight. During **_I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll_** , a fight broke out in the centre of the floor. Vernon Dursley had made the mistake of saying something about all wizards being nothing but trash trying to steal the livelihoods from hardworking normal people in the vicinity of Lucius Malfoy, who had countered it with, “It is bad enough that we have to listen to Muggle music, let alone the mindless blatherings of an unskilled sot such as yourself.” Vernon had let his fist fly and smashed it into Lucius’ face. Narcissa screamed, Petunia shrieked, and Jade laughed. Lucius got up and with little damage to his face and unsheathed his wand from his walking stick. Anne was at the scene in an instant, shouting, “Get the Hell off of each other! Lucius, you fire that thing and I will be sure that your butt ends up in Azkaban- don’t tempt me; you know I could land you there. Vernon, you try that again and I will see it that you are stuck to a wall. Get away from each other this instant!” Both men froze, surprised to see the normally docile woman building her stance and sticking to it. Lucius glared at her, “How dare you disgrace the name of wizard in your defence of this cretin!” Anne shook her head, “Lucius, no one deserves the torment you could cast on them- and if you want to see a disgrace, look in the mirror.” “I warn you, Ms. Schetzek, do not meddle with powers beyond your control.” he retorted. She wasn’t finished, but the song was. The next song began- **_Highway to Hell_**. Anne decided to have a little fun, “Lucius, you are nothing to me; you influence me as much as that Hell bound employer of yours. I know that you think I am on the highway to Hell- so let me give you a little tip: don’t mess with me; I can kick your ass.

_No stop signs, speed limits  
_ _No body’s gonna slow us down  
_ _Grab your wheel, gonna spin it  
_ _No body’s gonna mess me around  
_ _Hey Satan, paid my dues  
_ _Hey I’m in a rockin’ band  
_ _Hey momma, look at me  
_ _I’m on my way to the Promised Land_

Lucius, you want to get in someone’s face, get in mine, because I am much more at your level- don’t mess with a Muggle, unless you want your face broken, then do all you like.” Lucius was furious, “Narcissa, let’s leave.” She reluctantly followed. Anne grinned, turned around with a flip of her hair, and made her way back to her station where Severus was waiting, “I do not think your threat was wise, Anne, he may take you up on your offer.” Anne shrugged, “The way I feel right now, well, I have enough cockiness in my blood that I would take on Voldemort himself and think I could win.” Severus took her hand, “If you do, at least give me warning so I can come and come and bring you home- even if I have to do so in a matchbox.” She watched the play list tick over to **_Sweet Emotion_** , “Thank you, Severus, that means a lot to me.” She smiled at him, trying to avoid what she had seen in his eyes earlier. She let him put his arm around her waist and together they sat without speaking another word to each other until they closed down the dance hall at four in the morning with **_Welcome to the Jungle_** , and lastly, **_All Night Long_**. They walked back to the dungeon with Angel and Jade. Angel stumbled into her bed and Jade to hers while Severus kept Anne outside for a moment, “Anne, thank you, for today- you risked your life, the game, and the opinion of everyone watching for someone you are far too good for: me.” He held her close, “Thank you, Annelise, I am grateful beyond words.” She smiled as his lips brushed her cheek in a soft kiss, “Severus- if I would have let you fall, I would have been going backwards to the days of the Hell I lived before. Anyway, you are my friend- don‘t talk down about yourself, you are worth risking death, dignity, and soul for- I couldn’t let you die, I just couldn’t.” For a moment they embraced in silence. Anne enjoyed the moment before starting to pull away. Severus’ head was swimming with thoughts, _“God, Anne, just admit you love me, please….”_

Severus lay in his bed that night in Slytherin house thinking about the long day that had just passed, “ _She saved my life- and I am not even sure if she knew who from, that it was Voldemort there in the crowd. I hope she does, it would be unlike her to have not seen what was going on in full. I wonder what she was thinking then, if at all. I wonder if she realizes what was in that song that we danced to, besides the truth. I wonder if she feels what I do, or if she can, after Jon. I wonder if she ever will, or if this is a futile emotion burrowing itself within my heart and soul. God, please, I asked You to bring her back to me in Belfast, I think that You may be there- that maybe You can hear me. I have hidden from You for so long, shamed by what I was and am. I am not ready to believe in forgiveness again, no one but Anne had seen it fit to show it to me since Albus, and then suddenly she found a way to bring it out of Angelique, Jadelyn, and Nigel. I ask You to help me figure out what she is, besides a seraph in my eyes. God, I know that sounds dramatic, but when one is a follower of Godwin and no longer believes in love, and suddenly finds one’s self daring to doubt that which has been clutched as truth for so long, it is then that one is most fragile and most astounded by that which is occurring. Is this love? What is love? Does she see me in that light or is all that I am feeling just a dream, a figment of a lonely imagination? You brought her back in Belfast, help me here at Hogwarts. I ask this humbly, not expecting answers. Amen.”_

Anne flopped in her hammock to try to get a few hours of rest before having to help prepare the luncheon for the parents the next day, “ _God, I saw something there that I have never seen before- I think he loves me, but I can’t return that love- God, what am I to do? I can’t let him down, but I can’t do this! I know I saved his life and I think that he was searching for me to confess a love tonight, but there is no way that I am going to do that, no way- not after what happened with Jon. When that song was playing, I know he was thinking of me, how else do You explain the glow in his heart, the light exploding from his soul that I saw reflected in his beautiful eyes? All that, love as a shelter, a guide, a comfort- I knew that once, someday I want it again, but not now- how do I get myself into these situations? I guess I just have to wait it out and hope that everything turns out for the best, eh? God, it would be nice if You would just drop a banner down that tells me ‘go for it’ or ‘hold back a while’, but since You are not likely to do that or send me an owl with instructions, I ask that You somehow push me in the right direction. Allow me to do what I must and to bring Your light to this realm in all I do. I ask this in Christ Jesus’ name, Amen.”_

Saturday, September twentieth: parent departure day. After a luncheon for the parents and students at which the Quiddich cumulative results were announced (parents + students: Gryffindor 6, Slytherin 3, Ravenclaw 3, Hufflepuff 0), the parents left the castle. Everyone began to clean and reset to rooms for classes Monday. Sunday morning and the routine was the same, except Angel and Anne held a little Fellowship meeting before embarking on the day’s cleaning journey. After dinner that night, Anne found a little note pinned to her door,

“ _Annelise:_

_Best of luck on your classes Monday. Thank you again for Saturday- my life is in your debt, if I ever can I will repay the deed._

_~S.”_

She smiled and plucked the note from the door, only to find that there was a single rose in a thin crystal vase in the centre of her table without any note or explanation- it didn’t need one, she knew who it had to be from. She sighed, “ _Severus, you are not going to give up, are you?”_

Monday her class began working on **_Macbeth_**. Anne introduced the play by giving the students notes on the setting and the history behind the play. Tuesday through Friday they read the first four acts, leaving the conclusion for the next week. Saturday, Jade found herself in the Great Hall with Anne and Severus, speaking to a group of eager students, “Many years ago this school had a Duelling Club that rivalled all the other wizard schools in the world. We were the best of the best, unwilling to give in or give up. Sadly, this tradition died at the same time that Daddy V. stopped hanging around sixteen years ago. In case you don’t know, Daddy V. is my shortened version of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. It is much easier to say. Anyhow, the duelling club was restarted four years ago and fell apart when the school was under attack by a basilisk, and it did not last long in the year before this when Anne stuck the duelling coach to a wall and left him there for a while. He later found himself through a window. I intend to revise this club with the help of former Duelling Club captain for two years, veteran of three years, and champion all of them, Professor Severus Snape, along with Anne, general trouble maker and the only person I have ever seen stick someone to a wall upside-down without using a wand. She’s also the only person around here that even comes close to being able to challenge Snape. We will be beginning by learning how to block an unfriendly spell. Anne, Severus, and I will each take a group of you and begin work, rotating groups through the next hour.” At first, only the Slytherins and Angel wanted to work with Severus, but as his group gained success, the other houses began to mingle in and see what he was teaching. At the end of an hour, Jade brought everyone back together, “Because I am feeling especially daring today, I am going to ask for one of my assistants to come and demonstrate what you have learned today.” Anne nodded to Severus, “You go- it will look really cool, both of you all in black whipping around at each other.” He shook his head, “Whatever you say, Miss Anne.” He stood in the centre of the strip and then took his paces back, turning to see Jade all business- focussed, deadly, but not without her daredevil grin right there to challenge him. She cast first; he blocked and shot a bit at her, which she too dispelled. The funny thing was not that the match lasted nearly four minutes before anything got through, but that Jade, who had earlier said that only Anne could be any sort of challenge to Severus, was holding her own quite magnificently. He finally toppled her back, but she was on her feet in a heartbeat. The finally called the match a draw after another seven minutes passed without any other incident, “Jade, Severus, you both just demonstrated to the class nearly every known way to block a spell, considering you demonstrated blocking for eleven minutes. Everyone, I want you to take note of what they did and try to figure out a way that you can do the same.” The session went on, all three of them teaching the students what they could between the hours of two and four, having used their first hour already.

Sunday was the first official Quiddich game of the season- Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff put up a brave attempt, but they were still no match for Ravenclaw. 

Monday finished off **_Macbeth_** and they had an exam over it on Tuesday. They were all set to perform on Wednesday. 

Things did not occur as planned. During the day on Wednesday, October first, Jade had her first chance to teach Potions on her own. She paired students up by drawing names out of a hat- unfortunately Draco and Zack found themselves paired. Jade gave lab assignments to each pair, and then the groups collected their equipment and solutions. Right off, Zack and Draco were bickering. Jade told them to shut up. The arguments escalated until Draco shoved Zack slightly. Zack shook his head and glared at Draco; there was no way to win this battle in the here and now. Moments later, Draco’s cauldron exploded, knocking Zack backward so his head hit the edge of a desk and he slipped to the floor unconscious. Anne rushed in from next door and began to tend to Zack. Draco had other ideas, “Miss Riddle, you gave me the wrong measures of solution on purpose, didn’t you? You were trying to get me out of your way.” Jade was furious, “Mr. Malfoy, please leave this classroom this instant- twenty points will be taken from Slytherin house for your allegations and you may be asked to serve detention with Professor Snape to undo the damage done to the Lab.” He protested, “You are the guilty party, Miss Riddle, I will not let myself be twisted like this.” Jade pointed to the door, “Out before I take away more house points and your fellow Slytherins like you even better.” Zack was coming to, but not very happily so, “Draco, how dare blow up your own cauldron like that! You are so stupid- you could have killed me with a stunt like that!” Malfoy shouted back, “How dare you, Mudblood! Have you no respect?” Zack glared back as he stood up shakily, “Not for a bastard like you, pureblood or not.” Anne shoved between the boys, “Both of you stop. Zack, go to Poppy so she can make sure you are alright, Draco, go explain the situation to Severus- and don’t lie, both Jade and I will make our reports later, and who do you think he will believe?” Draco sneered, “His brat niece and his girlfriend.” Anne raised an eyebrow, “Girlfriend? This is news to me…. Stick to what you know, Malfoy, little white lies and twisted truths often get one into much trouble later in life.”

To avoid unpleasantries in her performance, Anne cancelled class that day and pushed the performance to the second. Once again there were folks who doubled up on parts, but this time it was not so confusing. Draco played Macbeth, and Jade begrudgingly played Lady Macbeth. Ginny played Lady Macduff, and Neville played Macduff himself. Holli played Duncan, who was no longer king, but queen of Scotland. Brittany was given the role of Hecate, while Hermione, Angel, and Cho all played her minions. It was wholly funny to Anne that Hermione and Cho were playing Wyrd sisters. Anne would not, however, let any of the students fence with swords at any point in the play- she had them use sticks instead. The tension between her students unfortunately transferred to the play and it did not go off well- Lady Macbeth would have much rather killed her husband than the king and Draco amended his lines to read,

“ _She should have died sooner;  
_ _There should have been a time for such a thing._ ”

Anne dropped his grade- to her, recreating Shakespeare’s meaning, or that of any poet/playwright, was sacrilege.

On Friday, Anne called off classes and instead sat down with Jade, Zack, and Draco to try to smooth things over between them to form at least a shaky tolerance of one another. Within five minutes Draco left, but Jade and Zack decided that everything was Draco’s fault since he had left and because neither of them liked him anyway.

No one did much of anything Saturday, so Sunday arrived quickly. The Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match took place without too much blood spilt and since Gryffindor won, as usual, the Slytherins were unusually touchy on Monday and at Zack’s snide comment to Draco a fight broke out in Anne’s class. Anne lost it, “Malfoy, Pitman, this has gone too far- each of you are to stay after class today- we are going to pay visits to your house heads and to either Minerva or Albus: this has gotten far out of hand. Class dismissed- you two leave and I will have your hides.” Everyone quickly vacated the room and the two boys stood in front of her desk, “I know that you two are not fond of each other in any respect, but this is ridiculous- Draco, if you can deal with Harry in a class without trying to punch his lights out, you can deal with Zack. I really have no idea what is going on here- I think it stems partially from last year’s argument with Ron over Ginny- Ron allied with Draco to get at Zack, am I correct?” Both boys nodded and Anne continued, “So there the rivalry began, somehow it grew this year and I am guessing that it built because of the accident the other day when Jade was teaching. Draco blames Jade, Jade protests, Zack believes her, Draco makes some idiot comment while Zack is conveniently just over wherever, Zack’s dislike grows, etc.” Their faces expressed surprise; Draco was the first to somewhat recover, “How do you know all that?” Anne shrugged, “One: that’s usually how it goes. Two: do you honestly think that I am daft? I would have to be not to notice these things. Three: really, Jade tells me things. Now, the first order of business: come with me and we will take a visit to Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick. Your house heads will know how to deal with this best.” Draco and Zack both winced. Draco shook his head, “Do we really have to? Isn’t there any way we could avoid going to the house heads? I think Snape would kill me.” Anne crossed her arms across her chest, “He very well may kill you, but as far as I am concerned, you would deserve whatever you get.” Zack finally spoke, “Can’t we have one more chance? I mean, if we write something or if we serve detention together without fighting, then can we avoid going to see the heads of house? I really don’t want Flitwick to know about this.” Anne smiled, “Well, it seems that I have a bit of power here…what would you be willing to do for me in exchange- in addition to the detention together, served with civility? If I end up cancelling the meetings with your house heads, I am doing you a big favour and I will expect something in return. Draco and Zack looked at each other; Draco spoke, “We can call a truce.” Anne raised her eyebrow, “I like this idea. You won’t mind?” Zack shrugged, “It was a stupid feud anyway, and I guess we can just get over our dispute about the other day in Potions- I was the one who got the worse end of the deal, if I can just drop it, so can Draco.” Anne nodded, “You know, by ending this you two are finally acting like adults and not like snivelling children. I am proud of that, you are growing up.” Draco turned to Zack, “Sorry about the fight today. If I act like we still are angry, it is just to keep my status in Slytherin- I wouldn’t want them to think I’d suddenly gone soft.” Zack nodded, “Deal,” and the boys shook on it. Anne let them go and collected her things; it certainly had not been an ordinary day, but all had at least ended well.

The next morning at breakfast, Anne found an owl sitting on the back of her chair. She took a letter and small package from it and it flew off. She set the package in her lap after she sat down and unrolled the letter. After the first line, she stopped,

_“Lisie! Sis!”_

Severus noticed the shock on her face, “What is wrong, Anne?” She shook her head, “There are only two people who call me Lisie or sis- my two best friends back in Hell, Michigan where I lived before I came over here.” Severus was amused, “There is a town called Hell?” She nodded, “Yeah, and it is cooler than the town called Paradise. Every year we hold Hellfest and have huge Hallowe’en celebrations. The city really is not much to see on its own- a used car dealer, a few lights, the town hall, but it does have the famous ‘Welcome to Hell’ sign on one of the building walls- the best photo op in Hell.” “Well, go ahead and read it, Anne.” She protested, “Not yet- I will read it after breakfast so if there is any bad news in it the meal isn’t spoilt.”

After breakfast, Anne hurried to her room to read the letter. No one saw anything of her for the rest of the day- her students found a letter pinned to her door,

“ _I am calling class due to some disturbing news I received this morning from home. You have the rest of the week off._ ”

Angel did not bother Anne- she knew that when Anne was ready to talk, then she would reveal all that needed to be said.

When Anne did not arrive to dinner on Thursday, Severus began to get concerned. He went straight to her chamber after dinner and found the door locked tight, “Anne? What is going on? Are you ill?” The door slowly unlocked and opened. Angel peered out at him, “Mum was waiting for you to come. She told me this morning what is going on- I need to go tell Jade.” Angel slipped beside Severus and into Jade’s room next door. Severus closed the door behind him. Upon turning around, he saw Anne lying in bed, still in her night-dress; he hastened his step and soon found himself pulling a chair up next to her hammock, “Anne, what is going on? Are you sick? What do you need me to do?” Her arm that draped over her eyes slid down to meet her other arm across her stomach, “Hush, I’m not physically unwell. The letter is beneath my pillow. Read it.” He slid his hand under her pillow and pulled out the once neat scroll and unfolded its now flattened roll,

“ _Lisie! Sis!_

_God knows, Lise, I have been looking for you ever since you stopped writing to me so many years ago. Don’t ask how I managed, but Rah did a lot in the finding- I still don’t know what all she did! I hope this somehow finds you over there. Remember how you told me in the last letter you sent to hide or lay low because the folks you were breaking off from were dangerous? Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they somehow found us- not Rah and I, but your parents. Lise, I hate to say this, but whoever you were running from, they killed your parents. I am sorry to have to say this, really, and Lise, Rah and I are getting out of here as fast as we can. I send you all my love and comfort. You don’t have to write back- I know that we have really found you._

_Peace to you~_

_Wizard H.B. 1: Britta.”_

He set the letter on the floor, stood up, leaned over her, and brought her up to his embrace, “Annelise…I am so sorry.” She began to sob, “I can’t do this on my own….” He settled on the edge of the hammock, “You don’t have to, Lisie, you don’t have to.”

The next day, Friday October tenth, Anne spent trying to deal with the death of her parents. Severus cancelled his classes as well and spent the day walking with her, helping her to feel not so alone, and holding her when she felt like she could not keep back her tears. They ended the day sitting in the long grass by the lakeside, she exhausted and leaning her head on his shoulder, he with his arms around her, rocking her gently. She nearly fell asleep, so he carried her back to her chamber, tucked her into her hammock, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, and crashed on her couch for the night. Angel came into the room shortly after he had fallen asleep, grinned, picked up the cat, and, after changing into her night clothes, went to her loft and dozed off, waiting to hear what would transpire in the morning between the two ‘just friends’.

Severus awoke before Anne and slipped out of the room, thinking he was unnoticed. Angel, however, had been awake for an hour playing with the cat. She smiled to herself and waited for her mum to wake up- there was no doubt in her mind that Severus would be her mother’s saviour and teach her how to love again, but the problem was that Anne did not or would not acknowledge what Angel saw to be truth. She went off to take a shower and returned to see Anne still sleeping. Angel sat down at the table and began brushing the cat. Shortly after, there came a knock at the door. Angel opened it to find Severus, who had showered and changed, with a breakfast tray and table settings enough for four. Angel was puzzled, “Who else?” He smiled a small smile at the little lady, “Go and tell Jade that we will all be having breakfast together this morning- she is in her room, brushing her hair and singing.” Angel nodded and took Kath with her next door. They returned in a moment. Severus was setting the table. After that, he had the girls follow him to the kitchens, where they each took some sort of covered dish back to the chamber. Winky, Dobby, Bob, and a few of their friends all trailed after, bringing amazing smelling foods back to where Anne was just waking up. They set everything on the table and the house elves stood back. Anne sat up in bed and smiled, “Wow…whose idea was this?” Angel bounded forward, “Uncle Severus rigged this up- I think- at least it was him that brought the place settings and got Jade, me, an’ Winky, Dobby, Bob an’ the gang involved.” She sat cross legged on the hammock and smiled, “Severus, guys, thanks. I need this.” Severus nodded, “Well, everything is hot enough that you can go and shower before you sit down to eat. It wasn’t _all_ my idea- as I passed the kitchens this morning, Bob was telling the other house elves how new bread was a good soul food- something that everyone who hurts should have- apparently after you told Albus what was going on when we stopped by his office early yesterday and you consented for him to tell students and staff, he made the announcement at dinner, stating that no one was to fuss over you, but to keep in mind that a little extra kindness, if it were not to much of a problem, would certainly not harm any. After I heard Bob talking, I remembered that you had told me over the summer about Bob giving you new bread to make you feel better after the Malfoys confronted you last year. I asked them if they wouldn’t mind making you a little breakfast in bed, Winky mentioned that a family eating together after loss always reminded one to be thankful for what still did exist, rather than to be shrouded by that which had passed and could not be changed. I mentioned Angel, Dobby added Jadelyn and me to the list. They set to work, keeping in mind that you and Angel were mostly vegetarians. Anyway, enough of talk- you go and freshen up. We will be waiting for you here.” Anne grabbed her basket, draped a dress over it, tucked her underclothes into the basket, and headed to the door. She stopped in front of Severus, set her basket on the floor, and gave him a quick hug, “Thank you, a thousand times over, thank you.” She picked her basket up again and left. The house elves followed her, “Winky is sad about Anne’s parents. Winky is sorry to hear that Anne got bad news like that.” “Bob knows loss too, Bob lost his sister, Bob is sorry for Anne and Bob knows that new bread and breakfast will help Anne have strength to keep going on.” “Dobby is sorry to hear Anne’s bad news, Dobby wishes he could undo what happened. Since Dobby cannot undo, Dobby offers his deepest regrets to Anne and speaks for all of the house elves when he offers their help in any way.” They had reached the kitchens and Anne turned to address her little friends as they departed to work on lunch, “Thank you, this all means so much to me.” Bob grinned, “Bob would like to know if Anne will be joining everyone for lunch.” Anne nodded, “Yes, I believe I will be.” He nodded to the other house elves, then to Anne, and then disappeared into the kitchens with his comrades. Anne showered quickly and returned to her chamber clad in her black everyday dress and her hair twisted and pinned up with a silver and black onyx hair stick. Severus pulled out her chair for her and she took her place beside him, Angel and Jade across from them. Angel uncovered a stack of pancakes, Jade discovered a giant garden omelette, Severus uncovered waffles, and Anne found coffee cake. There was tea, coffee, orange juice, milk, oatmeal, apple and raspberry toppings for the waffles and pancakes along with maple syrup, applesauce, toast, butter for anything that needed it, and a full loaf of new bread, fresh from the oven. Anne ate readily, having skipped all her meals since the breakfast before which she had found the owl on her chair. She felt her spirit lifting as she told Angel a little bit about her childhood, “My parents were the type to josh around and live a life of hands on work. We were far from wealthy, but we never feared that money would be a problem. We always made do with what we had- we gardened over the summer, canned the products of our efforts, ate them through the winter, and started the cycle again in the spring. We found a car abandoned by the road once and the police let us keep it. It was a Mercedes from the late seventies- a big, diesel thing with a manual transmission and all- we fixed that baby up to look like new, glistening black as it drove down the street. That was my first car. It was put into storage along with a few other things when I came here. We were a creative family. When we discovered that our house was not big enough to fit all the junk we had collected into it, we began to root through it and make things from what we found. We sold our contraptions from our yard on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. We did not charge much, but it was good that way- nothing ever revolved around money that way. We had fun with it- I remember making a necklace out of jigsaw puzzle pieces. I also made a circlet from pop-can tabs and Christmas tree light jewels. Half of the reason that Angel and I could deal with living out on the land was because I had such a creative up-bringing. I read like mad then, I would read aloud to my parents in the evenings if I was not busy with school stuff and I would act out scenes from plays that I read. It was wonderful fun. I will miss them terribly, but I guess I just have to remember what Grace told me when we were teenagers, ‘They can take us from Earth, but heaven is ours, no matter what happens- that they can’t take.’ She studied magic too- but she actually went to a school for it. Grace was five years younger than me. I did not even know of my powers when she discovered hers. Mum and Da’ were Muggles. When Grace died, her words brought me through, when Jon died, I clung to them still, I remember that those I killed, well, the same went for them, and I guess that is what I can cling to now.” Angel smiled, “We have two more guardian angels now- they can help Jon and Grace. Grace watches Jade, Granddad watches you, Mum, Grandmum watches me, an’ Jon watches Uncle Severus.” Anne smiled, “That is a neat idea- why do you think those particular spirits watch those specific people?” Angel grinned, “Knew you’d ask that: See, we have a lot of spirits hanging around to keep us out of too much trouble. Robert and his family also watch Severus, Vanessa watches Jade, and Mrs. Snape watches Nigel. Robert’s youngest girl watches Uncle Severus in particular. There is another spirit that watches him too, a really pretty lady, but I don’t know who she is yet. The other kids like to watch me- they think I would have made a good friend. Mum, you know how I know all this- that wasn’t just an idea, I know it already.” She addressed Jade and Severus, “Mum probably told you I was a seer, but a seer has to get her info somewhere. Spirits communicate with me- not all the time, that is why my gift turns on and off. They just kind of pop in once in a while and tell me things. The pretty lady was the one that told me to go next door last year to check on things when I first told Uncle Severus that I was a seer. I knew about the Malfoys coming to break your secret out as it was happening- Grace was watching out for you there, she told me what was happening so I could prepare for the effects of it. Your parents, well, when you got the letter, there were two spirits there behind the head table- I didn’t know who they were then, but now I do. I knew that there was nothing I would be able to do to help. There are some things I am not told, some that I am, and some things that I just get a play by play for. I know you probably think I am a bit crazy, but that is how things are- there is nothing I can do about it.” Jade grinned, “Angel, that is so cool! Can you talk to them or only them to you?” Angel responded, “That all depends on the day.” Severus was still digesting it all, “That is quite a spectacular gift, Angelique, it is rare- very few wizards or even Muggles can see spirits at any time and even fewer are spoken to by them. Only once was I visited- it was the pretty lady to whom you refer; she told me that leaving Voldemort was not easy, but right.” Angel stabbed her waffle, “Wildly cool. Professor Trelawney would have a ball with me, ‘cept I think I am more accurate than she is.” Anne laughed, “Goodness yes- I heard that according to her, Harry will die again this year, Malfoy will destroy part of the building, and I will find myself considering Voldemort’s offer of return. I really can’t see any of those happening in the least. Now let’s get back to breakfast before my omelette gets cold.”

For lunch the house elves made pizza. Anne was delighted beyond a doubt and began to feel better. 

On Monday, Anne let her class slack off a bit and she explained everything that had happened to her. Tuesday they resumed their Shakespeare unit with **_Hamlet_**. They got through act three before the weekend and Ravenclaw beat Slytherin in Sunday’s match, Zack somehow ending up without control of his broom and spiralling into Slytherin stands where he squarely nailed Crabbe and Goyle. They were about to pummel him when Jade pulled him up and smacked each of Crabbe and Goyle across the face. The Slytherins were thoroughly depressed and acts four and five were read especially emotively on Monday and Tuesday, Draco reading the part of Hamlet in act four and Laertes on Tuesday. Unfortunately, Draco challenged Zack to a duel on Wednesday. Thankfully, Ginny was able to talk them out of it and no harm was done. Anne once again gave an exam on the play and they attempted to perform it on Friday. Draco played Hamlet, Zack took Laertes, Ron and Harry were Rosencrantz and

Guildenstern, Hermione played Ophelia, Holli took Gertrude, Harry took Claudius, and Neville played a wonderfully badgering Polonius. Brittany played a female Fortinbras, while Cho played a female Horatio and the other, minor roles were taken by the other class members. This play went much better than the last. Anne gave her class Friday off. That weekend, Gryffindor beat Hufflepuff quite soundly.

Monday, October twenty-seventh brought on new realms of theatre and for fun for Anne- she assigned **_Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead_** and began teaching absurdist themes and existentialism. After reading the play and finishing it off on Thursday, they played at questions and had a right good time with it. She did not give her students Friday off- it was Samhain, Hallowe’en. Anne’s classroom was decorated with carved pumpkins, black and orange crepe paper, rubber bats hanging from the ceiling and the desks all shoved in the hall. Anne let the students play, bobbing for apples, trying to catch a apple on a string hanging from the ceiling with their teeth, telling stories, and the entire time listening to Hallowe’en music. Anne also told her students about many old Samhain traditions and what some of the fairy tales and hokum had meant back in the day of the ancient Celts. Toward the end of the class period, Angel stood up on her mum’s desk, “Hey, everyone, up here!” The room grew silent, “Mum’s birthday is today- she is twenty-six. Let’s all sing for her!” So they did.

Severus found out about Anne’s birthday somehow and after dinner asked her to follow him. She had no idea where he was taking her, but she still followed. She found herself in a small tower room where she could see the sliver of moon and gaze out over the lake, “What is this place?” He shrugged, “Everyone thinks that Voldemort met with his followers in here back in my fifth year- it is an outright lie- he met them in the forest, but I encouraged that rumour back then so that I could have a thinking spot. Albus knew what I was doing and did nothing to stop me. I have kept this tower to myself through my years here and upon my return. This is more a haven than my office and at night when I cannot sleep I slip away up here. I want to share this with you, and I invite you to escape with me once in a while so we can discuss freely without worry of anyone hearing.” She knelt beside him, leaning on the sill of the one window, staring out onto the shimmering lake. He slipped his arm around her waist and they watched the water glisten for a while, “Severus?” he hmm’ed, “Yes, Lise?” “One- since when do you call me ‘Lise’?” He smiled, “I like it, so I wish to use that name also- may I?” She nodded and continued, “Two- I how do you get through this? How did you get through the loss of your mum?” He sighed, “Back then, I prayed; now, I don’t know what to suggest- God and I are just getting back on speaking terms.” She shrugged, “I guess I will get through- I should find Angel and get her into bed. Thank you, the view here is lovely and I will take up your offer of escape some time.” Together they walked downstairs, saying goodnight and parting ways, him to Slytherin house, and her to the dungeons.

Monday came three days into November. The air was cold and slightly damp, nearly everyone chilly. Anne gave her **_Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead_** exam and then performed their work in class the next day. She arrived at her chambers before dinner to find a note pinned to her door. She took it down and read it while Angel tugged on her skirt, “C’mon, Mum, I want to get in to make sure Kath isn’t frozen into a cat-sickle.” Anne unlocked the door as she was reading the letter, “Ang, I have to go meet with Severus- something is wrong here from the way he is writing- he usually doesn’t have this edge when he is writing to ask me to meet with him.” Angel nodded, “See you at dinner then?” Anne nodded, “Yeah- be on awares- something is amiss and I am not sure what….”

Anne made her way to the tower he had led her to the evening before, rereading the note as she did,

_“Lise-_

_It is imperative that we talk. Meet me at my thinking spot after your class. I will be waiting. Do not make me wait long._

_~Severus.”_

She arrived and knocked on the wooden door and heard a gruff reply, “Come.” She entered and closed the door after her- he was sitting on the windowsill sideways, watching the day come to a close, “Severus, what is going on?” He sighed, “Sit and I will tell you,” she plopped down by his feet, facing him, “I really don’t know how to say this, but I have been assigned to another task, in addition to teaching. Someday it may override my teaching post and I may have to give it up. God, Lise, how do I say this? At the request of the Ministry, I am to begin working as an informant as much as possible. I will have to gather information on those who are suspected members of Voldemort’s inner circle through the actions and the reactions of their children. I am being exposed to an old demon, Lise, one that I still dread.” She sighed and rose, moving to stand beside him. She took his hands in hers, “Severus, should that demon attempt to repossess you, do not forget that I too have fought this battle and fight it still. I am not going to let you fall, even if stopping that kills me. You know this. Do not forget it.” He lowered his eyes from her and diverted his gaze out the window. She did not, “Severus, would you like to dance?” He let go of her hands and stood, not answering her query with word, but action. They began to waltz slowly around the small tower room, gazes locked. After a while, they slowed to a stop and he gave her a small kiss on the lips. She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, “Lise?” She sighed happily, “Yes?” “Are you going to dinner with everyone else?” Anne pulled from him, “I told Angel I would.” He nodded, “You had better go then- it is nearly time for everyone to gather.” “Are you coming, Severus?” “No, Lise, not tonight, I have quite a lot of thinking to do….”

The next day in class, Anne began to introduce more contemporary theatre, “We will be starting next on a collage of tragedies from different eras. I want you to pay close attention; on Monday we will be writing a summary of sorts. Three of the plays are ancient, two are modern. Can anyone tell me why this is important?” Brittany raised her hand, “Yes, Miss Gwyn?” “It really isn’t at this point- the ways of Britain are the ways of the world, or at least they should be.” Anne stood in shock for a moment. Then came a knock at the door. Anne called out to her guest, “Enter.” In stepped a woman with round glasses, hair that was somewhere between blonde and brown, and two pigtails. She was dressed in jeans and a Hanson t-shirt. She was a few inches shorter than Anne, her blue eyes glimmering. Just behind her was an even shorter woman with her brown hair bobbed, her brown eyes shining behind oval glasses. She was curved in figure while the first lass was not. The second woman wore a plain coloured t-shirt and jeans and was carrying a sketchpad. The first woman was the first to speak, “The ways of Britain are _not_ the ways of the world we’ve been living in- we actually really like our own ways, thank you, and don’t really feel like changing that.” Anne’s eyes grew wide, “Britta! Rah! Oh my goodness, how did you end up here? What are you up to? How did you find me?” Rah, the second woman, laughed, “First off, we ended up here with a little help from your Headmaster, second, we are up to no good, as always, and third, neither of us really has any idea how we found you, we just did.” Anne turned to her class, “Guys, these are my ‘sisters’- Britta Abigail Stiles and Rebekkah Ariel Hazlitt- we call her Rah, for her initials. Sisters, this is my class. I believe you have a little response to Miss Gwyn’s high handed assumption?” Rah looked annoyed at Brittany, “Yes, we do- there is no reason that anyone should be so stupid to believe that their customs and traditions are to be the exclusive norm for all people- where would you be if you refused to acknowledge other cultural traditions? You would not have May Day, Hallowe’en, the Christmas tree, pizza, or Lisie if you were so picky. We all have histories in our heritages, traditions that we like to keep, things that we hold on to and pass on to others and our children- these things make us different, interesting. Most places that Brit and I have been off to have been so different that we can prove without a doubt that the rest of the world doesn’t really care about the ways of Britain, and they are doing fine. If you care to be so closed minded, go ahead, but don’t try to tell me that you are right when I know for a fact that you are wrong.” They spent the rest of the class period in debate, Rah and Britta defending their positions so strongly that by the end of their time, even Draco agreed with them.

The next day Britta and Rah performed the haunting play **_‘night, Mother_** , which the class would read in the next week. The students were dismissed after the play so they could go and think about what they had just seen. That evening, Britta and Rah finally got to meet Angel, Jade, and Severus. Anne had her class write about the performance when they arrived in class on Friday. After dinner that evening, Jade took Angel and the three sisters sat in Anne’s chamber to catch up on old times. They finally talked about Anne’s parents’ death, “How are you dealing with this, Lisie? Brit and I were so upset, we couldn’t even imagine how you were going to feel.” Anne smiled, “The only reason I am still sane is because of Severus. He has been at my side the whole time. I did not tell him until the ninth and I received the news on the seventh. He came to my chamber that evening because he was worried I might be ill- he hadn’t seen me since the morning of the seventh. He held me until I fell asleep that night and he spent the entire next day with me. I nearly dozed off while we were watching the lake glimmer, so he brought me to bed and crashed on the couch. The next morning he had breakfast delivered here and he, Jade, Angel, and I had a huge breakfast together and just talked. He has been here for me through my entire struggle to come to terms with the history I just imparted to you and I have been helping him to deal with similar struggles. It’s been my saving grace that he is here for me.” Britta smiled, “He likes you- after all, you said he kisses you once in a while, and he gives so much time and attention to you- I wish I had a devotee like that- my last boyfriend was living scum.” Rah nodded, “You’re right, Brit, Carlos was living scum- I agree about Severus- and he has a neat name. He’s a bit quiet, but I don’t mind him too much- he isn’t exactly likeable outright though, and not half as fine as Jon- I still have that picture you sent me of you two.” Anne sighed with a grin, “He’s also a bit older than Jon. There is a large age gap between him and me- fourteen years.” Britta’s eyes grew wide, “He’s forty years old?! He doesn’t look it yet- maybe mid thirties, but not forty!” Rah shrugged, “Hey, friends of all ages, eh? Mrs. Lowell married a man seventeen years her senior and they had three kids and work hard for living- they have her family farm to run, you know.” Anne shook her head, “I am not going to marry Severus- I am not going to marry anybody, I did that already and it didn’t work so well- he died.” Rah shrugged, “Whatever, I think you two are perfect.” Anne glared, Britta continued, “Yeah, I have to agree- he may not be Prince Charming, but he is as good as they get these days. We saw how he looks at you and treats you, you may not want him, but he sure wants you.” Anne crossed her arms over her chest, “Yeah, right, and I’m the rajah’s daughter. Earth to sisters, there is no way that I am going to make the same mistake twice!” Britta grinned, “That’s what you say now, just wait a little while and you will start to regret about what you just said!”

The next day Severus was unusually depressed and refused to come out of his office, so Anne went in to him. He was grading papers when she entered and it was more than an hour later when he lay down his quill and spoke to her, “Lise, why are you in here?” She shrugged, “I want to be.” He went back to work, “So- the girls like you. They seem to agree with Angel on the bet. They also think that Jade is an absolute doll and they want her to visit them once they get moved in. They leave Monday.” He did not stop his work, “Oh, come on, Severus, react a little- what did you think of my sisters?” He kept on writing, “Britta was a bit too cheerful and Rah was a bit too sane.” Anne raised an eyebrow, “Did you pay any attention at all to them, or are you just speaking so I will shut up and leave you alone?” His quill stopped skritching and he looked up from his work, “You are very perceptive today.” She shook her head and headed for the door, “If you want to talk, I will be spending the day showing my sisters around the grounds and school. We might head over to Hogsmeade to do a little shopping.” He nodded and she left. He set down his quill, set his papers aside, and sat staring into space, thinking about everything that had come to pass in the last month, wondering how the hell she had the energy left to go shopping.

Sunday, November ninth: Hufflepuff got stomped again, this time by Slytherin.

Monday was the tenth of November: Britta and Rah left Hogwarts for the house they had bought just before they had found Anne. They were going to be living in Surrey. That day in class, Anne had her class read and act out **_Trifles_** , a short drama that Anne had found to be one of her favourites. The entire week was spent in similar manner, working with **_Medea_** on Tuesday, **_Oedipus Rex_** on Wednesday, **_Antigone_** on Thursday, and lastly they read **_‘night, Mother_** on Friday. Sunday brought the Ravenclaw against Gryffindor match and to everyone’s surprise, Ravenclaw beat Gryffindor in what turned out to be the most exciting battle for a win the entire season.   


Anne congratulated her Ravenclaw students on Monday and had her class write on the week prior. Then she gave them another assignment, “Alright, I have something new for you- you will each be reading a monologue sometime this week- it does not have to be memorized, but at least put some energy into it. Be prepared to read them as soon as tomorrow, I will be telling you who goes when on the day of. Good luck.”

Tuesday arrived sooner than most of the students would have liked, “Right, all- your monologues are starting today- first off will be Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville, in whatever order. Get to it, we haven’t got all day.” Harry stood in the horseshoe and began, “I will be presenting a selection from **_Oedipus Rex_** as the character Oedipus.

_Do not counsel me any more. This punishment_

_That I have laid upon myself is just._

_If I had eyes,_

_I do not know how I could bear the sight_

_Of my father, when I came to the house of Death,_

_Or my mother; for I have sinned against them both_

_So vilely that I could not make my peace_

_By strangling my own life._

_Or do you think my children,_

_Born as they were born, would be sweet to my eyes?_

_Ah never, never! Nor this town with its high walls,_

_Nor the holy images of the gods._

_For I,_

_Thrice miserable! --Oedipus, noblest of all the line_

_Of Kadmos, have condemned myself to enjoy_

_These things no more, by my own malediction_

_Expelling that man whom the gods declared_

_To be a defilement in the house of Laïos,_

_After exposing the rankness of my own guilt,_

_How could I look men frankly in the eyes?_

_No, I swear it,_

_If I could have stifled my hearing at its source,_

_I would have done it and made all this body_

_A tight cell of misery, blank to light and sound._

_So I should have been safe in dark agony_

_Beyond all recollection._

_Ah Kithairon!_

_Why did you shelter me? When I was cast upon you,_

_Why did I not die? The should I never_

_Have shown the world my execrable birth._

_Ah, Polybos! Corinth, city that I believed_

_The ancient seat of my ancestors: how fair_

_I seemed, your child! And all the while this evil_

_Was cancerous in me!_

_For I am sick_

_In my daily life, sick in my origin._

_O three roads, dark ravine, woodland and way_

_Where three roads met: you, drinking my father’s blood,_

_My own blood, spilled by my own hand: can you remember_

_The unspeakable things I did there, and the things_

_I went on from there to do?_

_O marriage, marriage!_

_The act that engendered me, and again the act_

_Performed by the son in the same bed--_

_Ah, the net_

_Of incest, mingling fathers, brothers, sons,_

_With brides, wives, mothers: the last evil_

_That can be known by men: no tongue can say_

_How evil!_

_No. For the love of God, conceal me_

_Somewhere far from Thebes; or kill me; or hurl me_

_Into the sea, away from men’s eyes for ever._

_Come, lead me. You need not fear to touch me._

_Of all men, I alone can bear this guilt.”_

Anne was rightly impressed, “Wow- that is a long one. I can’t even memorize that much at once! Bravo- the young mind is much easier to input data to that that of the older folk.” Hermione was up next, “Today I will be reciting lines of Lina’s from **_Misalliance_**.

_Old pal: this is a stuffy house. You seem to think of nothing but making love. All the conversation here is about love-making. All the pictures are about love-making. The eyes of all of you are sheep's eyes. You are steeped in it, soaked in it: the very texts on the walls of your bedrooms are the ones about love. It is disgusting. It is not healthy. Your women are kept idle and dressed up for no other purpose than to be made love to. I have not been here an hour; and already everybody makes love to me as if because I am a woman it were my profession to be made love to. First you, old pal. I forgave you because you were nice about your wife. Then you, Lord Summerhays, come to me; and all you have to say is to ask me not to mention that you made love to me in Vienna two years ago. I forgave you because I thought you were an ambassador; and all ambassadors make love and are very nice and useful to people who travel. Then this young gentleman. He is engaged to this young lady; but no matter for that: he makes love to me because I carry him off in my arms when he cries. All these I bore in silence. But now comes your Johnny and tells me I'm a ripping fine woman, and asks me to marry him. I, Lina Szczepanowska, MARRY him!!!!! I do not mind this boy: he is a child: he loves me: I should have to give him money and take care of him: that would be foolish, but honourable. I do not mind you, old pal: you are what you call an old--ouf! but you do not offer to buy me: you say until we are tired--until you are so happy that you dare not ask for more. That is foolish too, at your age; but it is an adventure: it is not dishonourable. I do not mind Lord Summerhays: it was in Vienna: they had been toasting him at a great banquet: he was not sober. That is bad for the health; but it is not dishonourable. But your Johnny! Oh, your Johnny! with his marriage. He will do the straight thing by me. He will give me a home, a position. He tells me I must know that my present position is not one for a nice woman. This to me, Lina Szczepanowska! I am an honest woman: I earn my living. I am a free woman: I live in my own house. I am a woman of the world: I have thousands of friends: every night crowds of people applaud me, delight in me, buy my picture, pay hard-earned money to see me. I am strong: I am skilful: I am brave: I am independent: I am unbought: I am all that a woman ought to be; and in my family there has not been a single drunkard for four generations. And this Englishman! this linen-draper! he dares to ask me to come and live with him in this rrrrrrrabbit hutch, and take my bread from his hand, and ask him for pocket money, and wear soft clothes, and be his woman! his wife! Sooner than that, I would stoop to the lowest depths of my profession. I would stuff lions with food and pretend to tame them. I would deceive honest people's eyes with conjuring tricks instead of real feats of strength and skill. I would be a clown and set bad examples of conduct to little children. I would sink yet lower and be an actress or an opera singer, imperilling my soul by the wicked lie of pretending to be somebody else. All this I would do sooner than take my bread from the hand of a man and make him the master of my body and soul. And so you may tell your Johnny to buy an Englishwoman: he shall not buy Lina Szczepanowska; and I will not stay in the house where such dishonour is offered me. Adieu.”_

Anne clapped and was grinning, “Wonderful lines- I once had to play Hypatia from this play- I hated the character, but had a wonderful time with the antics I got to employ. Next up?” Ron moved into place, “Well, you did not say it had to be from a play, so here are the Triads of Ireland,

_ The Triads of Ireland- _

_Three worst smiles-the smile of a wave, the smile of a loose woman, the grin of a dog ready to leap._

_The Three wealths of fortunate people-a ready conveyance, ale without a habitation, a safeguard upon the road_

_Three sons whom chastity bears to wisdom-valour, generosity laughter._

_Three entertainers of a gathering-a jester ,a juggler, a lap-dog._

_Three things best for a chief-justice peace and an army._

_Three worst things for a chief-sloth treachery, evil counsel._

_The three things that ruin wisdom-ignorance, inaccurate knowledge, forgetfulness._

_Three nurses of dignity-a fine figure a good memory, piety._

_Three nurses of high spirits-pride, wooing, drunkenness._

_Three dark things of the world-giving a thing into keeping, guaranteeing, fostering._

_Three that are most difficult to talk to-a king about his booty, a Viking in his hauberk, a boor who's under patronage._

_Three whose spirits are highest-a young scholar after having read his psalms, a youngster who has put on mans attire, a maiden who has been made a woman._

_Three wealths in barren places-a well in a mountain, fire out of a stone, wealth in the possession of a hard man._

_Three renovators of the world-the woman of a woman, a cow’s udder, a smiths moulding block._

_Three concealments upon which forfeiture does not close-a wife’s dowry, the food of a married couple a boys foster fee._

_Three contracts that are reversed by the decision of a judge-the contracts of a woman, of a son, of a cotter._

_Three that are incapable of special contracts-a son whose father is alive, a betrothed woman, the serf of a chief._

_Three sons that do not share inheritance-a son begotten in a brake, the son of a slave, the son of a girl still wearing tresses._

_Three chains by which evil propensity is bound-a covenant, a monastic rule, law._

_The rocks to which lawful behaviour is tied: A monastery, a chieftain, the family._

_Three candles that illumine every darkness-truth, nature, knowledge._

_Three things that constitute a king-A contract with other kings, the feast of Tara, abundance during his reign._

_Three locks that lock up secrets-shame silence. Closeness/_

_Three keys that unlock thoughts: drunkenness, trustfulness, love._

_Three inheritances that are divided in the presence of heirs-the inheritance of a jester, of a madman and of an old man._

_Three youthful sisters- desire, beauty, generosity._

_Three aged sisters-Groaning, chastity, ugliness_

_Three well-bred sisters-constancy, well-spoken-ness, kindliness_

_Three Ill-bred sisters-fierceness, lustfulness, obduracy_

_Three sisters of good fortune-good breeding, liberality, mirth_

_Three sisters of good repute-diligence, prudence, bountifulness_

_Three sisters of ill-repute-inertness, grudging, closefisted ness_

_Three angry sisters- blasphemy, strife, foulmouthed ness_

_Three irreverent sisters-usefulness, an easy bearing, firmness_

_Three reverent sisters-usefulness, an easy bearing, firmness._

_Three causes that do not die with neglect-the causes of an imbecile, and of oppression, and of ignorance_

_Three bloodsheds that need not be impugned-the bloodshed of battle, of jealousy, of mediating_

_Three cohabitations that do not pay a marriage-portion- taking her by force, outraging her without her knowledge through drunkenness, her being violated by a king._

_Three that are not entitled to exemption-restoring a son, the tools of an artificer, hostageship_

_Three deposits that need not be returned-the deposits of an imbecile, and of a high dignitary, and a fixed deposit_

_Three dead ones that are paid for with living things-an apple-tree, a hazel bush, a sacred grove._

_Three that neither swear nor are sworn-a woman, a son who does not support his father, a dumb person._

_Three that are not entitled to u\renunciation of authority-a son and his father, a wife and her husband, a serf and his lord._

_Three who do not adjudicate though they are possessed of wisdom-a man who sues, a man who is being sued, a man who is bribed to give judgment_

_Three on whom acknowledgement does not fall in its time-death, ignorance, carelessness._

_Three maidens that bring hatred upon misfortune-talking, laziness, insincerity_

_Three maidens that bring love to good fortune-silence, diligence, sincerity._

_Three hateful things in speech-stiffness, obscurity, a bad delivery._

_Three Steadinesses of good womanhood-keeping a steady tongue, a steady chastity and a steady housewifery._

_Three strayings of bad womanhood -letting her tongue and her housewifery go astray._

_Three excellences of dress-elegance, comfort, lastingness_

_Three that are not entitled to sick-maintenance-a man who absconds from his chief, from his family, from a poet._ ”

Ginny quickly took her place even before her brother had completely quitted the performance area, “I am reading a little essay that Anne wrote called **_The Waiting Game_** \- I found it on her shelf of notebooks- there is a notebook of her own work.

_There comes a time in the waiting game where a person becomes tired of waiting and the hope ebbs away into a nothingness that slowly eats away the soul and fills the mind with a dread of the unknown and uncertain future._

_Upon this day there comes the last time that the hope and love of the game can be revived; anything past this point and there is no way to redeem the chase, the game is lost by forfeit and the 'winner' is left with nothing but nothing and there is not a ray of light within the darkness of doubt._

_The seed is planted, the plant grows, the game of life goes on, but the plant withers in the heat of the scorching day. Only if the plant is nurtured then can the plant survive._ ”

Anne smiled, “I wondered how long it would take before someone found that little book.” Neville took his post and began to speak, “Um… I am going to read a poem.

_Where dips the rocky highland_

_Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,_

_There lies a leafy island_

_Where flapping herons wake_

_The drowsy water- rats;_

_There we've hid our faery vats,_

_Full of berries_

_And of reddest stolen cherries._

_Come away, O human child!_

_To the waters and the wild_

_With a faery, hand in hand,_

_For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand._

_Where the wave of moonlight glosses_

_The dim grey sands with light,_

_Far off by furthest Rosses_

_We foot it all the night,_

_Weaving olden dances,_

_Mingling hands and mingling glances_

_Till the moon has taken flight;_

_To and fro we leap_

_And chase the frothy bubbles,_

_While the world is full of troubles_

_And is anxious in its sleep._

_Come away, O human child!_

_To the waters and the wild_

_With a faery, hand in hand,_

_For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand._

_Where the wandering water gushes_

_From the hills above Glen-Car,_

_In pools among the rushes_

_That scarce could bathe a star,_

_We seek for slumbering trout_

_And whispering in their ears_

_Give them unquiet dreams;_

_Leaning softly out_

_From ferns that drop their tears_

_Over the young streams._

_Come away, O human child!_

_To the waters and the wild_

_With a faery, hand in hand,_

_For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand._

_Away with us he's going,_

_The solemn-eyed:_

_He'll hear no more the lowing_

_Of the calves on the warm hillside_

_Or the kettle on the hob_

_Sing peace into his breast,_

_Or see the brown mice bob_

_Round and round the oatmeal-chest._

_For he comes, the human child,_

_To the waters and the wild_

_With a faery, hand in hand,_

_From a world more full of weeping than he can understand.”_

Anne clapped for all her students who had gone that day, “Another round of applause for all- tomorrow we will have another set of folks reading. Everyone be ready, I am not letting any hints slip as to who.”

So the next day she called on five more students, “Alright, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Holli, and Elenore will be doing their work today. Sit back and let the good times roll.” Holli stepped up, “I will be first. What I am doing is a modified version of Serendipity’s segment in **_Dogma_** about God being a woman. She is explaining first why God is referred to as a ‘He’ if indeed a female and then why it is obvious God should be female,

_ee, these being male-dominated times, the Pharisees and High Priests felt threatened by the idea of a woman lording over them and controlling their fates, so they made sure that She became a He. Doesn't stop with God - the whole book is slanted and gender-biased: a woman's responsible for the first sin, the fall of man, and the expulsion from Eden. A woman cuts Samson's coif of power, a woman asks for the head of John the Baptist. Read that book again some time - women are painted as bigger antagonists than the Egyptians and Romans combined. (…) I don't know what the big surprise is - women are the only gender that can create life, just like God created the universe. Who else but a mother could have the infinite patience with impudent children that God has with humanity. A woman can give birth to and nurture both sexes, so psychologists theorize that women are the only gender both sexes can feel completely comfortable with; and the faithful - both male and female - feel at ease with God. In time of trial, our first instinct is to implore the aid of the Almighty, just as when you're a child, the only person who can make it all better is...mom. (…)”_  


Holli smiled, “Not that I really even think that God has a gender, but it is an interesting concept none the less.” She sat down and shot a grin at Elenore, “Go on, girlfriend, you are next- you have to be, you are doing a **_Dogma_** piece also.” Elenore stood up and went to the centre of the horseshoe to begin her monologue, “I will be doing the ‘Happy Jesus’ speech presented by Cardinal Glick, slightly modified,

_Ladies and Gentlemen of the press - few would deny that the Catholic Church has fallen behind somewhat in the times. Catholicism usually strikes the average person as an old-fashioned remedy for the ills - both moral and psychological - of a society that has since left it's stringent rules and ornate rituals on the heap with 45's and eight track cassettes. And in an effort to disprove that, the Church has appointed this year as a time of renewal, both of faith and of style. So, it is with great pleasure, that I present you and your parish - mere days away from it's centennial celebration - and the continental United States, via Satellite with the first of man revamps that the 'Catholicism -Wow!' campaign will unveil over the next year. Now, what does this mean for the average churchgoer? Are we going to throw out the rule book and adopt a hippie mentality in regards to our faith? No. We're simply talking about a few minor alterations to both the aesthetic and theoretical aspects of a religion that boasts one of the highest membership numbers on the planet. (…) So what are we talking about here. Well, for example... while it has been a time-honoured and traditional symbol of our faith, we have decided to retire the highly recognizable, yet wholly depressing symbol of our Lord, Jesus Christ, crucified. Why? Well, look at it. Would you relish being a member of a group that uses a man nailed to two pieces of wood as it's masthead? Of course not - who would? I've got enough downers in my daily routine without having to deal with this visual every time I go to worship. Instead, the church is going to adopt this new, more soothing and inspiring sigil, which we feel is in-line with our new outlook. See? Isn't this better? How could you not feel just great walking into a church and seeing this behind the priest - a positive reinforcement that whatever we do, God thinks is 'a-okay'. Can't you just see it on chains around people's necks, and as the new background in avant garde, MTV videos?”_

Everyone applauded and Draco stood up to do his piece, “I chose something a bit more traditional- **_Macbeth_**. While it does not pose a direct question that applies to our lives today, or challenge our thinking, it does create emotion and stirs us to wonder. 

_Is this a dagger which I see before me,_

_The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee._

_I have thee not, and yet I see thee still._

_Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible_

_To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but_

_A dagger of the mind, a false creation,_

_Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?_

_I see thee yet, in form as palpable_

_As this which now I draw._

_Thou marshall’st me the way I was going;_

_And such an instrument I was to use._

_Mine eyes are made the fools o’ the other senses,_

_Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,_

_And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,_

_Which was not so before. There’s no such thing;_

_It is bloody business which informs_

_Thus to mine eyes. Now o’er the one half-world_

_Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse_

_The curtained sleep; witchcraft celebrates_

_Pale Hecate’s offerings, and withered murder,_

_Alarumed by his sentinel, the wolf,_

_Whose howl’s his watch, thus with his stealthy pace,_

_With Tarquin’s ravishing strides, towards his design_

_Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,_

_Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear_

_Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,_

_And tale the present horror from the time,_

_Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:_

_Words to the heat of deeds to cold breath gives._

_I go, and it is done; the bell invites me._

_Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell_

_That summons thee to heaven or hell.”_

Draco sat down. Anne was thoroughly impressed, “Draco- you had that memorized….” He smiled, “Yeah, I have a copy of the play in my dorm- not all Muggle literature is bad…just the stuff written by closed-minded dolts.” Anne nodded, “I couldn’t agree more.” She turned to Crabbe and Goyle, “O.K., boys, time to do your bit.” Crabbe stood and made his way to the horseshoe,

_“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine. And rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will demonically indulge the other. That choice is yours. You're the one who set this in motion, Frankenstein.”_

He sat down; Anne nodded, “Short, but since I did not specify a length, all is well. Try to convey a little more emotion, the Creature is not a flat character, make him more desperate. Good- Goyle, your turn.” He went to the centre of the horseshoe,

_Three rings for the elven-kings under the sky,_

_Seven for the dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,_

_Nine for mortal men doomed to die,_

_One for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne,_

_In the land of Mordor where Shadows lie._

_One ring to rule them all,_

_One ring to find them,_

_One ring to bring them all,_

_And in the darkness bind them._

_In the land of Mordor where Shadows lie.”_

Anne nodded yet again, “Well done, boys. There is no one else to go today, so class will be dismissed early today. Tomorrow brings our last set of monologues- if you cannot figure out who will be presenting tomorrow, well, you will just have to wait, because I am not telling.”

Thursday, November twentieth: more monologues, but the last day of them, none the less. Anne sat on her desk and began class, “Well, this is our last day and we have a lot to do- first off, Cho, Susan, Zack, and Brittany all have their monologues to do, then Jade and Angel both want to do one too- finally I want to give you all a chance to just vent and chill out at the end of the class- this has been a big feat for some of you and I want time to recover from it before we dive into written critiques on Friday. So, who is to start?”

Susan went to her place in the centre, “I will- I am working with a poem that Anne wrote called **_Factorial_** \- she has dated it to two years ago, before she came here.

_It is the cry of the heart_

_To be loved_

_To be heard_

_To be revealed_

_To be seen_

_To be recognized_

_To be certain_

_To be well_

_To feel_

_To be whole_

_To be one with another_

_To be as it’s self_

_To know that it lives_

_And it knows that it lives because_

_It is not always loved_

_It is not always heard_

_It cannot always reveal_

_It cannot always be seen_

_It is not always recognized_

_It is not always certain_

_It is not always well_

_It cannot always feel_

_It is not always whole_

_It cannot always be one with another_

_It is not always, as it’s self_

_IT defines it’s self in the ways that_

_It experiences Love_

_It experiences being heard_

_IT experiences revealing_

_It experiences being seen_

_It experiences recognition_

_It experiences certainty_

_It experiences wellness_

_It experiences felling_

_It experiences wholeness_

_It becomes one with another_

_It becomes one with another through_

_Love_

_Being heard_

_Revealing_

_Seeing_

_Recognition_

_Certainty_

_Wellness_

_Feeling_

_Wholeness_

_It is whole once it has_

_Loved_

_Heard_

_Revealed_

_Seen_

_Recognized_

_Been Certain_

_Been Well_

_Felt_

_The heart feels when it discovers_

_Loving_

_Hearing_

_Revealing_

_Seeing_

_Recognizing_

_Certainty_

_Wellness_

_A heart becomes well if it can Open it’s self to_

_Recognizing when to love_

_Recognizing when to hear_

_Recognizing when to reveal_

_Recognizing when to see_

_Recognizing when to be certain_

_A heart is certain when it feels that it is_

_Loved_

_Heard_

_Revealed_

_Seen_

_A heart that has been seen has opened up and knows what_

_It gratefully loves_

_It gratefully hears_

_It gratefully reveals_

_A heart is revealed if it has become one to_

_Love_

_Hear_

_A heart has heard all that it will ever need to hear_

_When it learns how to love_

_And love is just the beginning…”_

Anne smiled, “Thank you, Susan, I am glad that you actually liked that piece enough to want to work with it for your assignment. Good work- who wishes to go next?” Cho stood, “I will, I am reading Shakespeare from **_Cymbeline_**.

_Fear no more the heat o’ th’ sun,_

_Nor the furious winter’s rages,_

_Thou thy worldly task has done,_

_Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages._

_Golden lads and girls all must,_

_As chimney-sweepers come to dust._

_Fear no more the frown o’ the great,_

_Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke,_

_Care no more to clothe and eat,_

_To thee the reed is as the oak:_

_The sceptre, learning, physic must_

_All follow this and come to dust._

_Fear no more the lightning-flash._

_Nor th’ all dreaded thunder-stone._

_Fear not slander, censure rash._

_Thou hast finished joy and moan._

_All lovers young, all lovers must_

_Consign to thee and come to dust._

_No exorciser harm thee!_

_Nor no witchcraft charm thee!_

_Ghost unlaid forbear thee!_

_Nothing ill come near thee!_

_Quiet consummation have,_

_And renowned be thy grave.”_

Before Anne could comment, Brittany sprang up and delivered her monologue,

_“Pretty women wonder where my secret lies._

_I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size_

_But when I start to tell them, They think I'm telling lies._

_I say,_

_It's in the reach of my arms_

_The span of my hips,_

_The stride of my step,_

_The curl of my lips._

_I'm a woman_

_Phenomenally._

_Phenomenal woman,_

_That's me._

_I walk into a room_

_Just as cool as you please,_

_And to a man,_

_The fellows stand or_

_Fall down on their knees._

_Then they swarm around me,_

_A hive of honey bees._

_I say,_

_It's the fire in my eyes,_

_And the flash of my teeth,_

_The swing in my waist,_

_And the joy in my feet._

_I'm a woman_

_Phenomenally._

_Phenomenal woman,_

_That's me._

_Men themselves have wondered_

_What they see in me._

_They try so much_

_But they can't touch_

_My inner mystery._

_When I try to show them_

_They say they still can't see._

_I say,_

_It's the arch of my back,_

_The sun of my smile,_

_The ride of my breasts,_

_The grace of my style._

_I'm a woman_

_Phenomenally._

_Phenomenal woman,_

_That's me._

_Now you understand_

_Just why my head's not bowed._

_I don't shout or jump about_

_Or have to talk real loud._

_When you see me passing_

_It ought to make you proud._

_I say,_

_It's in the click of my heels,_

_The bend of my hair,_

_The palm of my hand,_

_The need of my care._

_'Cause I'm a woman_

_Phenomenally._

_Phenomenal woman,_

_That's me.”_

Anne smiled, “Angelou is a wonderful poet and an empowered woman- she knows how to make a woman proud of who she is, and she tells all folks like it is; she sees life clearly. Thank you, Brittany- in this era where people even as twiggy as I are seen as still needing to be thinner, more skeletal, it is nice to hear someone as young as you read a poem that tells us that there is beauty in the shape we are naturally blessed with. Who wants to try to follow that up? Zack, since you are the only one left in this group to go- try your luck.”

He stepped up and cleared his throat, “I will be reading a hymn as a poem. It is called **_Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing_**.

_Come Thou fount of every blessing_

_Tune my heart to sing Thy grace_

_Streams of mercy never ceasing_

_Call for songs of loudest praise_

_And teach me some melodious sonnet_

_Sung by flaming tongues above_

_I'll praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it_

_Mount of Thy redeeming love_

_Here I raise my Ebenezer_

_Hither by Thy help I come_

_And I hope by Thy good pleasure_

_Safely to arrive at home_

_Jesus sought me when a stranger_

_Wandering from the fold of God_

_He to rescue me from danger_

_Interposed His precious blood_

_Oh, to grace how great a debtor_

_Daily I'm constrained to be_

_And let Thy goodness like a fetter_

_Bind my wandering heart to Thee_

_Prone to wander, Lord I feel it_

_Prone to leave the God I love_

_Here's my heart Lord, take and seal it_

_Seal it for Thy courts above”_

Anne nodded, “Thank you, Zack, that is one of my favourite hymns, even though I have not sung it in ages. Lastly, Jade and Angel, each of you wanted to present a little something?” Jade nodded, “Angel first.” Angel stood on Jade’s desk,

_“O for a voice like thunder, and a tongue_

_To drown the throat of war! - When the senses_

_Are shaken, and the soul is driven to madness,_

_Who can stand? When the souls of the oppressed_

_Fight in the troubled air that rages, who can stand?_

_When the whirlwind of fury comes from the_

_Throne of god, when the frowns of his countenance_

_Drive the nations together, who can stand?_

_When Sin claps his broad wings over the battle,_

_And sails rejoicing in the flood of Death;_

_When souls are torn to everlasting fire,_

_And fiends of Hell rejoice upon the slain._

_O who can stand? O who hath caused this?_

_O who can answer at the throne of God?_

_The Kings and Nobles of the Land have done it!_

_Hear it not, Heaven, thy Ministers have done it!”_

Angel got off the desk and Jade made her way to the circle, “Angel recited one of her favourite William Blake poems. I will be reading a poem written by Anne that is simply titled **_Free_**.

_I am free!_

_That which once held me is no more_

_No more is that which once held me_

_I am free_

_Free from his lies_

_Free from his deception_

_Free from his shadow_

_The shadow of power_

_Power over my emotions_

_For I gave back to him_

_An overview of what he gave to me_

_I think it did not settle well with him_

_I hope it makes his stomach churn_

_It did to me for a year_

_And after a year_

_I am free.”_

Jade sat down and Anne took the floor, “One last round of applause for all our hard workers this week- you have all gone above and beyond the call of duty, taking on pieces of literature that I did not think you would dare- including the junk from my notebooks- really, it is nothing more but rant trash, but somehow you made it seem worth reading. Good job. You are now free to just melt down and relax for a while, catch up on homework if you have to, figure out what the heck Snape tried to assign and decipher his instructions sheets, sleep, whatever you want, just don’t be idiots or fight. Now go at it.”

On Friday Anne had her class critique one another, ”Alright, I want constructive criticism only- you are each to write a little note to all of your classmates, Jade and Angel are optional, giving them pointers and such on their monologues. I will be reading these before the recipients see them, so mind yourselves. You may use the same sheet of paper; I will be typing up sheets for each of you compiling all comments. I want these fairly brief and they are due at the end of the day. The time is yours.”

She handed back the papers on Monday and also handed back the compiled comment sheets for each student. She had her students do an improvisation exercise in which a set of six students rotated in an out of a ‘car’, taking on a new personality each time they re-entered the group. Angel sat out, preferring to sit with Anne and laugh at the antics she was observing. Anne also had each student draw a tag from a hat that gave them a cliché personality, a profession, and an objective to attempt to accomplish. She then assigned groups: the first was Holli, Draco, and Ginny. Holli was a bouncy professional cheerleader who wanted to find her car keys, Draco was essentially a Jekkyl and Hyde personality working as a talent show judge who wanted to rule the world and Ginny was an introverted ice cream vendor who wanted to be a singer. With this set of statistics, they had to create a scene.

Draco: <sitting behind a desk> Next!

Holli: <bounces in> Like, ohmyGod, this is so amazing, but, I, like, have no idea, like where my keys have gone!

Draco: Are you sure you are in the right place? This is a talent show-

Holli: Sure! Like, hear my cheer! Draco- yeah, go Draco, yeah, jump around and hit the town, D R A C O, yay!

Draco: <looking horrified> Get out of here! I have this urge to kill rising inside and it is directed at you!

Holli: Whatever. <leaves- enter Ginny>

Ginny: I…I…

Draco: What?! Why are you here, you stammering imbecile! This is a … <switches personalities> I’m sorry, miss, I have this little problem- did I kill anyone?

Ginny: <shakes her head> N-n-nno….

Draco: Good. What will you be performing tonight?

Ginny: <whispering> A piece from Broadway.

Draco: Speak up, girl, I can’t hear a word you are saying.

Ginny: Broadway.

Draco: Alright then, have at it.

Ginny: <gathers her courage> _Its our time, breath it in, worlds to-_

Holli: <bounding in and interrupting Ginny> Where the hell are my keys, like, have you, like, seen them?

Draco: <becoming Hyde> Woman, I will kill you yet! <he jumps up and pursues Holli out of the acting area> <returns calm> Continue.

Ginny: <terrified whisper> Ice cream?

Draco: It won’t help me to take over this dismal little planet we are on, so no. The only reason I tolerate human kind at all is so I can corrupt their minds, you see?

Ginny: I want to be a singer.

Draco: Then we are the perfect team- you be the inspiration for millions, the ice cream girl turned star who sings of the perfect world ruled by me- and when then you have convinced them that it is I who am destined to lead, I will <turning to Hyde again> instigate revolt and kill all who stand in my way!

Holli: Where are my keys? I can’t leave until I find my keys!

Draco: <maddened- pulls out keys> Here are your damn keys! <and stabs her with them- Holli falls dead> That should do it. Now, where were we? <Ginny turns and runs>

Anne started a hearty round of applause, “Well done- that was certainly original- I liked it! You all get full credit- next up will be the group of Goyle, Crabbe, Neville, and Jade.” They all drew for their personalities, professions, and objectives. Goyle was a jock playing professional American football who wanted to win the game he was playing, Crabbe was a dolt assassin wanting to join the Mafia, Neville was a depressed poet wanting to sell a book, and Jade was a gothic artist who wanted to be left alone. They set up their scene quickly.

Goyle: If I fake the pass to that dude, then I can run over here and make my way for the touchdown with little worry- but what if-

Crabbe: <interrupting> Move it.

Goyle: Hey, get off my field.

Crabbe: Who is the quarterback?

Goyle: I am, and that dude over there.

Crabbe: I am supposed to kill one of you.

Goyle: If you kill him it will make the next play a whole lot easier.

Crabbe: Yeah, but if I kill you, you who are Italian, maybe the Godfather will see my victory and take me into his family.

Neville: <entering and sitting down with his book> Why does it matter? What is this one game in the scheme of life? In the end, all will pass into the great oblivion and from the minds of all forever.

Goyle: Who the hell are you?

Neville: You wouldn’t know if I told you- my book hasn’t been selling lately.

Crabbe: Has it ever?

Neville: <dejectedly> No.

Jade: <enters and shouts to someone offstage> Get away and stay away, you dolt!

Crabbe: What seems to be the matter?

Jade: Mr. I-am-Italian-don’t-make-me-call-my-Mafia can’t figure out that despite the fact that my last two paintings have been of him dead I do not want to ever see him again.

Crabbe: Which Mafia?

Jade: The Michovellicci family.

Crabbe: The archenemies of those I wish to join! <aims mimed gun and fires offstage>

Jade: You missed his head- got his shoulder though.

Crabbe: I’ll try again.

Jade: Got him that time. Nice- thanks.

Crabbe: So, are you free Friday night?

Jade: Go to hell.

Crabbe: Where’s that?  
Goyle: It will be here if you don’t let me make this play!

Neville: Hell is everywhere.

Jade: You an existentialist?

Neville: Yes.

Jade: You want to sell me that book?

Neville: Yes.

Jade: Then come home with me tonight- and assassin- you can keep watch on my roof for the Michovellicci family- I will tell my Godfather about you and he will thank you for your service. Quarterback- resume your game! <all leave>

Goyle: Finally…

Anne again started a good hearty round of applause for her students, “Wonderful- I like the resolution presented. Go ahead and have a seat- next up will be Elenore, Susan, Brittany, and Ron.” Elenore was a passive mother who wanted to fall asleep, Susan was an evil dictator who wanted to hunt geese, Brittany was a schizophrenic dancer who wanted to go to Mars, and Ron was a demon possessed mathematician who wanted to run the world.

Elenore: Now, honey, all I want to do is sleep…

Susan: Fine, as long as I can still hunt geese.

Elenore: I don’t want you playing with guns, but if you promise to be careful…

Brittany: <bursting in> I am a goose! Watch me dance…to Mars! <she dances around Susan>

Susan: This is far to easy <shoots Brittany>

Elenore: Do you know what you did?

Susan: Um…yeah.

Elenore: Then apologize.

Ron: <staggering in> I am Legion and we are many! Give over this land and I will not have to recite Pi to the three hundredth decimal!

Susan: Mom, what should I do?

Elenore: Whatever you wish, dear, as long as it is quiet.

Susan: Here, just let me hunt geese!

Ron: Yes! Now the torture begins for you! Legion will now tell you all the prime numbers in existence if you do not stop him!

Susan: Are you a goose?

Ron: No! I am a duck, thank you.

Susan: Close enough. <shoots>

Elenore: <waking up from dozing off> Oh my! What was that?

Susan: Just go back to sleep, Mom.

There ended the scene. Anne, along with everyone else, was laughing the entire times at the antics employed by the actors, “Well done! I never thought that any of those personas would turn out quite like that…next up will be Zack, Cho, and Hermione.” Zack drew out a science fiction geek who works at the comic book shop wanting to meet Batman, Cho was a little girl whose only job was to be annoying and she wanted to go to the zoo. Hermione was a Hippie babysitter with a dream of getting to meet anyone from Led Zeppelin. 

Hermione: So, do you have the latest?

Zack: I have everything ever made about Batman- he is my hero and I bet that if he were real, I would replace that Robin idiot…

Hermione: And Led Zeppelin would be here providing the soundtrack to my life- if Batman were real, there would be no bounds- and kid, put that back!

Zack: Yeah- that is issue three! If you hurt that, kid, I’ll take you out!

Hermione: I am warning you…

Cho: I will put it down if we can go to the zoo to see the monkeys and you will buy me something when we are there.

Hermione: With what your parents pay me? Kid, I can hardly afford to feed both me and my cat, let alone buy you things.

Cho: Then this goes bye-bye.

Zack: How about I give you candy? I can give you candy, I can give you an action figure- I have three of Robin right here- what do you want?

Cho: I want the zoo.

Hermione: Yeah, and I want to be serenaded with **_Stairway to Heaven_** in a personal concert, but that isn’t gonna happen.

Cho: It could.

Hermione: How?

Cho: Mom has connections. You take me to the zoo, I get you Zeppelin.

Hermione: And what about my guy here? Batman boy- what will you do for him?

Cho: I can get him issue one.

Zack: Kid, I love you- let’s go to the zoo! <all exit>

Anne grinned, “That kid has got one heck of a family and a lot of power- not quite realistic, but fun none the less- good job! Our last group is Harry and Angel.” Harry’s character card told him that he was a humble prince who wanted anything but fame, while Angel was a frightened homeless girl who wanted to get a bigger box to live in.

Harry: Miss- do you have a reason that you are sitting in that little place?

Angel: Mister, this box is home- and please, if you are not going to make it bigger, do not cramp my doorframe.

Harry: I am hiding from the palace guards- and I am not magical, so making it bigger is not an option.

Angel: The palace guards? Don’t say their name! If you talk about them they will somehow hear and they will find you!

Harry: How do you know?

Angel: It is why I am here- they took my family when they found them talking badly about the guards and I had to run- this box is my home.

Harry: You live in a box?

Angel: Yes- where do you live- if it is anywhere on the East end, then leave, everyone there has so much and gives so little.

Harry: I live in the palace.

Angel: Oh-

Harry: Would you like to live there?

Angel: If people wouldn’t talk so much when I lived there.

Harry: They talk too much- fame is awful when all you want is quiet.

Angel: How would you know?

Harry: I am the prince.

Angel: You-?

Harry: Yes.

Angel: And you are talking to me?

Harry: Yes.

Angel: Wow.

Harry: So, do you want to come and live in the palace? You could be my sister.

Angel: But you would still have fame.

Harry: Whether or not I like it, that will be with me until I die- the best I can do is use it to help people.

Angel: Like me?

Harry: Like you. <offers her his hand>

They ended the scene with that frozen tableaux. Anne led the applause, “That was such a sweet scene. I like that. Well, everyone went; everyone gets one hundred percent on their projects. Tomorrow you get the day off. Class is dismissed.” The students filtered out. Within moments, shouts issued from the hall. Angel and Anne looked at each other, Anne dropped her papers, and they both rushed into the hall. Draco stood in front of Jade, screaming in her face, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?! WHY ARE YOU SUCH A BITCH TO ME? WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?!” Jade’s face burned red, but not responding with shouts, rather in a low, even voice that would make the average person’s blood freeze, “Gee, you never thought that it would create a little tension when you altered **_Macbeth_** to wish me dead, did you? You never thought that I might still be a little bitter for you trying to hurt my Angel last year, did you? And above all, you never thought that you using me at the ball to get a gold star from Daddy would bear any repercussions, eh? You never thought that you have insulted me with your assumptions that I would even want to have any associations that would bring me closer to my father. I know what your dad is, he obviously told you who Tom Riddle was, and you took up the crusade. Sorry, kid, there is no way that you will get me to bend to you.” He slapped her, “GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE AND FIGURE OUT THAT MY FATHER ISN’T WHAT I WANT HIM TO BE EITHER!” Jade shook her head, “Your father is an idiot- and you are following right in his footsteps whether you like it or not.” His eyes were flashing with hate, “ROT IN HELL, RIDDLE!” She bit her lip and then glared after him as he turned to leave, “I’ll see you there, Malfoy.” Jade turned on her heels and stormed into Anne’s classroom. Anne turned to Angel, “As much as you would like to help-” Angel cut her off, “I know- Vanessa is telling me to go find Uncle Severus and let you two alone.” Anne shook her head, “It must be nice to have hints like that…” She returned to her classroom and found Jade sitting on the floor in the centre of the circle, “Anne, don’t lecture me on what happened. He started it by saying Severus was being hunted, I told him that Severus wouldn’t be found unless someone finked on him, he asked who I thought would do such a thing, I told him the truth and that he would do it to make his daddy happy. Then you came out. What else is there to say?” Anne knelt beside Jade, “I will be visiting Slytherin house tomorrow after dinner with Severus to try to at least get a shaky peace established. I know that it does not look good, outcome wise, but we will do all we can to end this.” Jade nodded, “Thank you.” Anne rose, “Speaking of our Potions Master, I have to go and find him and talk to him about how we are going to handle tomorrow.” Jade sighed, “Anne- I probably should have said this earlier, but Lucius mentioned that Mould man probably would stop in during parents’ week and as far as I could deduce, based on the feelings I had, he was the one who tried to kill Severus during the Quiddich match.” Anne smiled softly, “Don’t worry, I knew that all along- and where did you get calling him Mould man?” Jade nearly let a grin cross her face, “Mould rhymes with Vold and he is pretty old too, and since he hangs out with scum, he must be pretty low level too- so he is Mould man- anyone who likes Lucius Malfoy has got to be pretty rotten.”

The next evening Anne, Severus, and Angel skipped dinner with the rest of the staff and students to eat together in Anne’s chamber. She made pasta. They then all went up to Slytherin house to wait for Jade and Draco. Once arriving, Severus leaned against the side of the fireplace and watched Anne and Angel on the couch. They interacted so beautifully, they really didn’t even need to speak to communicate. He sighed, Angel rattled off something in a foreign, yet musical tongue which Anne answered in the same language with her little light laugh. Whatever they had said, it had sounded wonderful. Severus seemed to somehow withdraw into the shadows; he wanted to be a part of that sort of interaction so badly, nearly desperately. He shook his head, how did a little orphan girl link so tightly to the woman who had inadvertently killed the child’s parents? How did that same woman seem to exude peace from every motion? Why did his life seem so intertwined with hers when not only had they met merely a year ago, but other people were so insignificant? How did that woman ever catch his eye in the first place and how and why did she keep it? Severus sighed again, he did not understand the emotions he felt for Anne, but he did remember them from years and years ago.

Angel’s peals of laughter broke his concentration. Anne had Angel pinned to the couch and was tickling her without remorse, “Uncle Severus! Help! Get Mum! Get her!” Severus shook his head and nearly smiled, there were no students around so he could allow a little silliness. He made his way over to the couch and let his hands pinch Anne’s waist, catching her off guard and making her squeal, “Severus Victor Snape! You watch your back; I will get you for that!” She was grinning ear to ear as he stood by and pretended not to know what she was talking about. The reasons they were in Slytherin house in the first place burst in the door, “Malfoy, some day I am going to get some of the dirt on you circulating and-” “Riddle, you wouldn’t dare- that would be too much like what your father would do.” “Malfoy, my father would have killed you by now. Anyway, he and you can just go to-” “Riddle, if you say that one more time I will be sure to get someone you care about in trouble of some sort.” Snape crossed his arms across his chest and with the utmost seriousness approached the bickering pair, “I am sick of this! Is there no logic that you will listen to?” Angel interrupted, staring at them from over the back of the couch, “Oh come on, Uncle Severus- they won’t listen to logic at any lengths. Step aside, let me have my piece, I have to go to bed, and you can lecture them all you like after hours.” Severus did not like being told what to do, especially by a child, but he saw the look on Anne’s face and walked back beside her. Angel continued, “Now both of you stay shut up while I talk- if either of you try to walk out on me, you will find yourself stuck to a wall. You two are old enough that it should not take a nine year old with a big mouth to shut you up- you are complicating everyone’s life around here and none of us wants to hear the crap you are spewing! You are making us all miserable! If you are going to fight, at least do it when no one else is even within hearing distance and Jade, throw in a right hook if you have to shut his mouth for him!” Angel turned back around and flopped back on the couch. Anne and Severus looked at each other and shrugged. Anne faced the stunned fighters, “I agree with everything but the right hook- if I catch or hear of either of you hitting the other, I will find ways to make your life even worse than you think it is. Let’s try to sit down and talk about this like adults.” Draco shook his head, “Sorry, Anne, that is not going to happen- she is impossible to talk to.” He left and headed up the stairs to the boys dormitory. Jade was left standing before Anne, Severus, and the back of the couch which held Angel in silence. She approached Severus, “I’m sorry, Severus, that this got so out of control, I’ll try to keep my tongue better.” He uncrossed his arms and tentatively put his hands on her shoulders, “Jade, I understand your anger, and thank you for saying you will try harder. You are a young woman, Jadelyn, and a very wonderful niece- you have a good heart, but, like both your mother’s family and your father’s family, have an explosive temper. It will not be easy to deny it, trust me, but I guarantee you that it can be done.” Anne smiled as Severus finally took his role as Jade’s uncle and acted upon it. He nodded to Jade and re-crossed his arms. Jade bowed her head, “I’m sorry, Anne, I think I’ve disappointed you. You are so even tempered, how do you do it?” Anne shrugged, “I don’t always. You did not disappoint me; I am more worried about you than anything.” Jade sat down on the couch and watched Angel stare at the fire, “Ang, honey, I’m sorry- you’re right. Can you forgive me?” Angel turned to Jade and gave her a big hug. Jade held the little girl close as Angel spoke, “Of course, that is what friends are for.”

Wednesday, November twenty-sixth was the day before Thanksgiving for Anne. She spent the day telling her students the history of the holiday and how it was celebrated. Thursday Anne cancelled class- she was cooking all day in preparation for a feast that evening in her chamber. She opened the invitation to all who would wish to attend, but she knew that since it fell during the regular dinner hour, that not many would attend. At seven o’clock she opened her doors, exposing a room in which the table was laden with things she had cooked all day and decorated in fall coloured tulle drapes and set the table with candles and fine china dishes with real silver silverware. Seven thirty was the set dinner time and to her delight, Severus, Jade, Angel, and her entire class showed up at the door. Anne was very happy and everyone fit comfortably around her big table, her at the head with Severus and Angel on either side of her. The sang a blessing that had been passed down in her family for years,

_“Be present at our table Lord;_

_Be here and everywhere adored;_

_Thy creatures bless and ask that we_

_May feast in Paradise with Thee._

Angel said the ‘Amen’ and they all sat down and began dinner.

Friday was another day off for Anne’s class for the holiday and Saturday passed without a hitch. 

After Anne had held Sunday Service in her chamber, she went to wander around the castle and found herself in the Great Hall along with others who were just hanging out for the day. She did not notice Severus watching her from the side door off the platform, “ _Well, Miss Lise, we’ve survived another month._ ” He began to notice little details about her that he had not paid much attention to before- the way that her hair fell in little rivers past her shoulders, glistening with just a hint of red, the gentle curves of her body, the way that she more of drifted around the room rather than walked, how she stood tall whatever she did, how she seemed to know exactly what was going on around her at all times, the constant glimmer in her eyes that he could not ever recall not being there, even in her despair, the shadows on her face that defined her features, the line of her jaw and the small lift that was nearly always at the corner of her lips, the sway of her hips as she moved and the ways that she interacted with others. He also noticed that she seemed tired, world weary, yet unwilling to ever stop pushing onward. He smiled as he watched her swing Angel around and set her down again. Anne then turned to face him and nodded; he nodded back and turned to leave, “Severus- wait a moment, I have a bit of news for you…” He had already left. She sighed and turned to Angel, “Hon, I have no idea when I will be back, but I have to go take care of a bit of business.” Angel grinned, “Yeah, sure you do.” Anne rolled her eyes and quitted the room the same way he had. She called his name and stopped to listen for an answer. None came. She continued down the halls until she saw him disappearing around a corner. She followed and finally caught up with him, “Severus, why are you running from me?” He stopped and, in the middle of the dark hallway, turned on her, “Lise, will you please just leave me alone? I did not ask for your company and have no intention of keeping it!” She sighed and brought her hand up to stroke his hair, the knots and tangles falling out as her fingers glided through it with ease. She smiled, his hair was as soft and light as hers and Angel’s- she realized how easily that it must tangle and mess considering the consistency. She smiled and let herself step close, inches from him, “Come on, Severus, at least tell me what is on your mind, if anything at all. Don’t walk away from me when I have something to tell you- I usually don’t say things that are without some meaning.” He caught her hand as it passed through the last of his hair, “Lise-” He did not know what to say, so he let his thought drop. He then noticed another thing about her- her hands. They were not soft as of those belonging to an aristocrat, yet not tough as a farmwoman’s- they were battered just enough to say that she did what she had to without hesitation. He kissed her hand and backed away from her, “Never mind.” She moved in again, this time just taking his hands in hers, “Can I at least tell you what I had to say?” He nodded and noticed another thing- there was an unlit torch on the wall beside them, “Do you mind lighting that?” She shook her head and with a wave of her hand (which returned to holding his) the torch sprang to life. She began to tell her news, “Jade got a letter from her mother this morning, and the Ministry suspects Adelaide of current connections to Voldemort. She is being investigated currently and has to keep her activities away from him. She also sent a warning to Jade that there is a certain sect of Death Eaters that are particularly active and possibly planning something. She told Jade to keep her eye out for them so that she doesn’t get hurt and can perhaps take control of the section when it does whatever. Jade told me that she has no intention of taking control of any of her father’s people, but liked the heads up. Jade and I both speculate that this could mean trouble for you.” Severus sighed and broke from her gaze- the strange thing was that her eyes were not their normal colour; he squinted slightly as he tried to discern whether or not the dim light had anything to do with this discovery. She smiled, “Are my eyes doing their thing again?” He hmm’ed, “What was that?” She repeated herself, “Are my eyes another colour than they were the last time you saw them?” He nodded, “Lise, I could nearly swear that your eyes were light brown the last time that I saw them and now they seem to be hazel, with green on the inside and brown on the out.” Anne shrugged and sighed, “They do that- if you wait about ten minutes they will be olive green.” He smiled and shook his head, “You never cease to fascinate me, Lise.” She laughed and the entire hallway filled with the sound, “Well, I am glad to know that I am good for something.” He spoke a little something and the torch went dark. He pulled her into his embrace, “Lise, you are good for a lot more than just that.” She sighed as he ended the moment and left, “And what was on my mind has been relieved, Lise. Thank you, I feel much better now,” he tossed back to her. She stood alone in the darkened hallway, watching the direction in which he had disappeared, “Glad to know that I am good for something…,” she whispered to herself as she returned to Angel and the students in the Great Hall.

Monday, December first brought another history lesson, this one on **_The Crucible_**. After class her students filed out as usual and Anne headed back to her chamber. All in all it was turning into another uneventful day. After dinner, things changed. Anne was hanging on the rope ladder to the loft trying to detach Angel from **_The Phantom of the Opera_** when a knock came on the door and a voice called to her from outside, “Lise?” She called back, “Come on in, Severus.” He entered and Anne snatched the book from a temporarily distracted Angel. Severus smiled as Anne jumped from the ladder with the book and called up to Angel, “I told you that the book went goodbye when it came to be nine o’clock. It is now nine-fifteen. The book is away.” Angel groaned, “Fine, Mum.” Severus stood in front of Anne and, with the most utmost seriousness, began to speak, “Lise, Angel, there is something that I must tell you that I cannot speak to any other human beings, not even Jadelyn. This must not leave this room.” Anne sat down on the table and crossed her legs in front of her, “Of course- Severus, what’s wrong?” He looked up to the loft, “Angelique?” She peeked out from the loft, “Yeah, no problem. I keep Mum’s secrets, I can keep yours too.” He cleared his throat and, obviously uncomfortable with whatever he had to say, began, “I am leaving tomorrow to investigate the Death Eater sect you mentioned yesterday- Albus told me shortly after you spoke with me that I alone was to investigate this problem. I will be leaving early tomorrow morning.” Anne nodded, “Alright- how long will you be gone and where are you going?” He sighed, “That is the true question. No one knows how long I will be gone for and where I am going is supposed to be a secret that only Fudge, Albus, Minerva and I are aware of. Anne, I don’t know how to say this, but I will be going to Cambridge.”

Anne froze, his words echoing in her ears, “Oh dear God….” He bowed his head, “I shouldn’t have said anything, I know, but-” She cut him off, “It scares me to know what you are going into….” He sat on the edge of the table and put his arm around her shoulder, “Lisie, I know who I am dealing with.” She shook her head, “I still don’t want this to be happening…the reason being that I know too who you are dealing with, but on a much more intimate level- I worked there, I know what you might find. At least take this advice- stay with Jon’s aunt and mother- Chloë and Elenore Schetzek. Chloë is a very accomplished witch and will be able to help you hide in her home. I can send an owl to them tonight and they will expect you arrival.” Severus shook his head as a definite no, “I will not place them in danger.” She sighed, “Severus, I placed them in danger when I married Jon. They told me after that ordeal that if myself or any of my friends ever needed help in any way or were in Cambridge for any reason that I was obligated to send them to the Schetzek household.” He still was hesitant, “If I were found out-” “Stop protesting and give me the comfort that I at least know you will have a roof over your head and three square meals a day, alright?” He squeezed her shoulders and headed for the door, “I have to go finish packing.” Anne watched him go, “Do you need any help?” “No thank you, Lise.” She continued, “Before you leave, come in here and say goodbye- I don’t want you to just vanish on me.” He left with a, “Goodnight, Lise.” Anne called to Angel, “Hon, come on down from there- we need to write him a letter so when he gets homesick he can read it and we will be with him.” Angel climbed down from the loft, “And we can’t tell Jade.” Anne sighed, “We can tell her that he is alright, and that he writes occasionally, but we can’t tell her much else. She will understand that it is a matter of great importance and it pertains to her father. Jade will find out somehow, but I don’t think she will hear it from us or she will get as much detail that we will. Now, what should we put in that letter?” Angel pulled out her markers and a few sheets of paper, “I am going to draw him a picture and write about it- I think I will draw all of us and put our names below it.” Anne drew out a piece of her stationary, ever so lightly scented with lilac, “You go ahead and do that Angel, I will write him a letter.” Angel began drawing and Anne began writing,

_Severus-_

_Since I am writing this before you have even gone, I cannot tell you how I will feel without you here, but I am sure that I will miss you greatly and will be at a slight bit of a loss. Hopefully you can be back shortly, but knowing what you are getting into, I highly doubt it. I know you are experienced in what you are encountering, but I still want you to be careful with what you are getting into. The house that we all lived in was a co-ed operation known as Alpha Omega. Fitting, eh? Be careful, they do not take kindly to outsiders._

_The question already comes into my mind that asks if I will see you come home or if you will die out there. I fear that, Severus, and I hope that you will write often to dispel the worry that has begun to collect in my brain. I will take care of Jade while you are away and I will make sure that the Potions Lab is kept in order. I will not let things slip out of hand if I can help it._

_I would like to end this letter with a little hope- the lyrics to a song that my mother used to sing to me as a little girl that always made me feel better, and the lyrics to a song that Angel and I used to sing together in times of turmoil- she and I would be down, and one of us would just start the second song here and we would belt it out together as loud as we could as a reminder that wherever we go, whatever we do, we have each other. Remember that, Severus, wherever you go, whatever we do, we gals back here at Hogwarts are going to stick by you, until death._

_‘When you're weary, feeling small,_

_When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;_

_I'm on your side. When times get rough_

_And friends just can't be found,_

_Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will lay me down._

_Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will lay me down._

_When you're down and out,_

_When you're on the street,_

_When evening falls so hard_

_I will comfort you._

_I'll take your part._

_When darkness comes_

_And pains is all around,_

_Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will lay me down._

_Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will lay me down._

_Sail on silver-girl,_

_Sail on by._

_Your time has come to shine._

_All your dreams are on their way._

_See how they shine._

_If you need a friend_

_I'm sailing right behind._

_Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will ease your mind._

_Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will ease your mind.’_

_***_

_‘What would you think if I sang out of tune,_

_Would you stand up and walk out on me?_

_Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song_

_And I'll try not to sing out of key._

_Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends_

_Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends_

_Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends_

_What do I do when my love is away_

_(Does it worry you to be alone?)_

_How do I feel by the end of the day,_

_(Are you sad because you're on your own?)_

_No, I get by with a little help from my friends_

_Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends_

_Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends_

_Do you need anybody_

_I need somebody to love_

_Could it be anybody_

_I want somebody to love._

_Would you believe in a love at first sight_

_Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time_

_What do you see when you turn out the light_

_I can't tell you but I know it's mine,_

_Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends_

_Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends_

_Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends_

_Do you need anybody_

_I just need someone to love_

_Could it be anybody_

_I want somebody to love._

_Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends_

_With a little help from my friends.’_

_We love you, Severus._

_~Lise._

Angel finished with her picture and Anne folded them together in an envelope, sealing it with wax and stamping her initial into the wax. She set it on the table and tucked Angel into bed, “Mum, how are we going to do this with him gone? I mean, Jade is going to go mad with wondering, I feel like I am maybe going to lose a dad, and I can see right through you, you are going to go crazy with worry and loneliness. He is your lifeline, Jade’s home-ties, my father figure, what are we going to do? How are we going to get through this?” Anne sighed and kissed Angel’s forehead, “I don’t know, honey, I guess we just keep hope and cling to each other, that is really all we can do.” Angel nodded and Anne tousled her hair, “Get some sleep, love. I will tell him goodbye for you if you are not awake when he comes in the morning.” Angel nodded, “Give him a hug for me, and if you are up to it, a kiss.” Anne shook her head, “The hug, yes, the kiss…probably not.” Angel grinned at her mother, “You will let him kiss you, but you are not yet ready to take your own leap. I guess I can live with that for now.” Anne climbed down the ladder and sat at the table to compose a letter to send to Elenore and Chloë, “I love you, Angel.” Angel sighed, “Back to you, Mum, back to you. Tell him I l love him too….”

The next morning Severus knocked lightly on Anne’s door far earlier than anyone else was awake. He pointed his wand at the lock, “Alohamora…,” the lock clicked open and he entered the room with one torch lit by the head of Anne’s hammock bed. He leaned over her and stroked her hair, “Wake up, dear Lise, come on, I can’t wait for long.” He gently shook her shoulders, “Lise, Lise, wake up.” She moaned and he helped her to sit up, “Oh bloody hell, Severus, what time is it?” He smiled, “Four in the morning.” “I really shouldn’t have said ‘no matter how early’, should I?” He sat on the edge of the hammock, “You would have missed this last chance for us to talk before I leave.” Anne turned to face the rest of the room and groggily stood up with his help, “Let me get up, let’s go sit. Lord it is cold in here…where did my bathrobe go?” He retrieved it from where it was hanging over her folding screen and draped it over her shoulders, helping her to get it on. She shuffled her feet into her slippers and sat down on the couch. He sat beside her, “I don’t do goodbyes well.” She curled up beside him, “It’s not really goodbye- we will see each other again.” He put his arms around her, “You do realise, Lise, that I could very well die on this trip and this, now, could be the last time we ever see each other in life.” She sighed, “I know, but I still am trying to keep a positive outlook. It will help both myself and Angel get through this.” He shifted her away from him and turned so they were facing each other and took her hands, “Lise, be careful while I am gone, I don’t want to lose you.” She smiled sadly, “ _You_ be careful while you are gone- I don’t want to lose _you_.” He let go of her hands and pulled a little jewellery box from within his robes, “Here- open this while I am gone- think of it as a Christmas present.” She blushed slightly, “Thank you,” and then got the letter from the table, bringing it back to him, leaving the little box in its place, “Here, Angel and I wrote this last night. Open it when you find yourself needing a little reminder of home- it isn’t much, but the hearts that went into this are great and will sorely miss you. Reread it when you are in the heart of darkness, when you feel hope ebbing away, and when you fear what you face, remember us. May it renew your spirit.” He took the letter and tucked it somewhere within his robes, “Thank you, Lise.” Anne nodded, “Oh, and I sent an owl to Chloë and Elenore last night. They will know of your coming.” He let a sad smile creep across his lips; he was trying to figure out how to say what was on his mind. Anne embraced him, “This is from Angel- she told me to tell you that she loves you.” Severus pulled back, “Kiss her for me; I really do love that little girl.” Anne nodded, “I know you do.” He bit the inside of his lip before continuing, bowing his head to avoid her eyes, “Annelise, there is something that I have to tell you before I go, something that I have to say before I risk death.” She gently lifted his chin so their gazes locked, “What is it, Severus?” He took a breath and found strength to speak, “I…I…love you.” She broke the gaze and stared at her hands clutching his, “I know.” He waited for a moment, “And?” She felt tears coming but somehow managed to hold them back, “I can’t-” He nodded, “I know.” With a shudder in her voice she apologized, “I’m sorry….” He enfolded her in his arms, “Hush, Lise, I understand. It’s alright, love, it’s alright.” As she lay against him in his arms she felt his heart beating within his chest, knocking against his ribs- he was nervous, frightened of what may come, but not showing it outwardly. “ _God, I want to surrender so readily, but I can’t…please don’t let him die, I want to know where this is leading, I want to know if I can love again, and if that is to happen, I need him to come home alive._ ” She buried her face in his shoulder. As they rested for a moment in the peace of their confessions, his head was also filled, “ _How can I ever get her to see that this may be the last chance she has? Will she ever just let herself love again? What if I never see her again, then what will I have left unsaid? Undone?_ ” She began to pull away and he stopped her with a gentle, yet very emotional kiss. She felt her heart breaking as he then rose to leave. Choked with emotion, she followed him to near the table’s edge, “Let me walk with you to the door.” He clasped her hand and they slowly walked to the door. She opened it and he exited, taking one last look at her before squeezing her hand, turning quickly away, and gathered his resolve. She felt his hand slide from hers and watched him disappear into the shadows. She lost her battle with her tears an as they silently rained down her cheeks she whispered after him, “Goodbye, Severus, Godspeed your way.”

That day in her class, everyone was buzzing about their missing Potions Master. No one seemed terribly disappointed, but Anne had to show as little emotion as possible. Albus had himself pulled Jade aside at the beginning of the day and told her what was going on with Snape. She and Angel sat together at the big desk and watched as Anne attempted to get the classes attention, “Everyone, everyone, can I have you all attentive? Class?” Jade suddenly stood up and shouted, “ _Sit down and shut up!_ ” The class grew silent, “Now, listen to Anne- she didn’t get much sleep last night.” Anne nodded, “Thank you Jadelyn. Today we will be beginning **_The Crucible_**. Please, get out your books and begin the read-through.”

The next day Anne took over teaching Potions at Albus’ request. She read through Severus’ meticulous plan-books and, with Jadelyn’s help, planned out how they were going to work the classes. Draco made some snide comment during Potions to Jade who turned and left the room for Severus’ office, “Anne, I will be in here if you need me- next class I will come back to help. I cannot work with a person such as him.” They read the second act during Anne’s normal class, but Anne was not as energetic as usual with her teaching. The students could tell something was wrong, but no on could approach her to ask what.

On December fourth, Jade returned to her chamber after both Potions and Anne’s class to find a letter on her door. She opened it to find it none to pleasant,

_Riddle-_

_If you think that I am enjoying having to see you even more in Potions, think again. I hate it just as much as you hate seeing me. You are the heiress to Slytherin house, yet I cannot see any way that you resemble any of your illustrious predecessors. You are a sham, a fallen flower withering away from the vine without the nourishment of companionship from your housemates. We are watching you burn. You could be powerful, you could reign with your father, but for some reason you insist on keeping your distance, thinking that this act will save you when in fact, this is the very think that is killing you._

_~Malfoy._

Jade tore the letter in half and stormed into her sparsely furnished chamber to scrawl a response. She stared at the room; the bed had tall bedposts that held up a curtain frame that was draped with black lace. To her right, her large ebony desk sat out from the wall with her high-backed black velvet chair behind it. To her left was a screened in dressing area with a small table behind it and her trunks to the side. She went to her desk and pulled out a piece of paper, ready to write a wicked response. She stopped herself before her pen hit the paper, speaking aloud to herself, “If I reply, I lower my standards to his. I will not, for that would be what he wants.” She tucked the paper back into a drawer and put her pen aside. 

The next day Jade avoided Draco during Potions and maintained an icy silence during Anne’s class. He confronted her after class and their reading of the fourth act of the play, “So, Riddle, did you get the little letter I left you?” She glared at him, “Yes, I did. I ask that you not see me as the same person as my predecessors, but as my own person, differing in every way that I have right to from most around me.” He sneered back, “I see that you differ, but you don’t have any right to do this to Slytherin house. I can understand why your mother would give you the name of your father’s filthy Muggle father.” Jade’s glare became even colder than before, “Go to Hell, Malfoy, go meet my predecessors there.” She turned and left without giving him the chance to respond.

The next day Jade locked herself in her chamber and refused to come out all day. Angel went to find Draco. He was sitting by himself in Slytherin’s common room, into which Angel snuck as Crabbe and Goyle left. She stood in front of him, “Draco, why can’t you give this all a rest? Jade won’t even come out to eat today and Mum is worried.” Draco shook his head, “I don’t care what Riddle does, so let her starve, that is not my problem.” Angel nodded, “It should be- maybe you don’t like her, but she is just a kid, like you. Anyhow, she is very emotional right now and I don’t want her to get hurt or to hurt herself. Just try to be a little more in tune to her feelings.” Draco sneered, “Why don’t you just go back to your perfect little life, girl, and leave the rest of us alone.” She sighed, “Perfect…you think that because I am only nine that my world is perfect. I lost my parents already, my Mum won’t even talk to anyone right now, Jade, who is like my sister, keeps rambling on about how worthless she is, Severus has disappeared and I see how that hurts the both of them- do you think my world is perfect now? I am trying to keep my Mum sane and my sister hopeful! Goodbye, Malfoy, and may God break that stone heart of yours before it is too late.” She left the common room to go find Anne. She stared out the front door of the building after not finding Anne in her chambers and noticed something flying fast over the dark forest. She squinted a bit and discerned that it was Anne on her broom, shooting through the air with her hair streaming behind her, robes rippling. Angel sighed and went back to her chamber to think of some way to help.

Sunday, December seventh, Jadelyn’s birthday. Angel and Anne tried to coax her from her room, and after an hour of talking to her through the closed door she came out. She was a little paler than usual and she looked bedraggled. Anne sent her off to shower. As Jade returned to Anne and Angel she ran into Malfoy, “Riddle, you left your cave- came out to get a little sun, I see- or are you tired of trying to starve yourself already? Pity.” She burst into tears, “Good God, Malfoy! The one day a year that I can call my own and you chose to ruin it too! LEAVE ME ALONE!” She ran back to the dungeons, dumped her laundry on the floor of her chamber and tossed herself on her bed, letting herself sob into her pillow. Anne entered shortly after and sat with her, rubbing her back as one would do with a distraught child, “There there, Jade, it’s alright. Come on next door and we will have a little girl time. You can vent all you want and we won’t try to stop you in the least.” Ten minutes later, Anne and Jade went next door to find that Angel had baked a cake, attempted to frost it by herself, placed eighteen candles in it, and set it on the table. For the first time in ages, Jade laughed.

Monday brought Anne’s exam. Jade had been fairly calm all day until she found another note on her door,

_Riddle-_

_Whatever you are telling those two, you are lying. You haven’t any right to say anything because you are nothing, that’s right, nothing. You shouldn’t be here, you shouldn’t even exist. Face it; you would be better off dead._

_~Malfoy._

Jade went to her desk and scrawled across it in red ink,

_Maybe I will try that._

She went and pinned it to the door of the boys’ dormitory in Slytherin house.

Anne had her run through off **_The Crucible_** on Tuesday. Jade was absent not only from Anne’s class, but she had not arrived for her work in the Potions Lab either. Anne had struggled through the lessons on her own, thankful for any student willing to help her, adding points to their house, detracting house points from those who were detrimental to progress. After not seeing Jade at dinner, Anne began to worry. She returned to her chamber to find Jade lying on her couch. She sat up as Anne entered, “Anne, I need help.” Anne sat down beside her and noticed that her eyes were red and her cheeks streaked from tears. Anne hugged Jade, “I know, honey, but I couldn’t give it unless you asked.” Jade shook her head, “No, not to the extent that I need it now- yesterday after Malfoy wrote me a nice little note that said I would be better off dead, I wrote back saying that I might try his suggestion. Today I pinned, “ _Out out brief candle, life is but a waking shadow…_ etc. on the door to the Slytherin boys’ dormitory. It would be really hard for him not to know who it was from.” Anne put her arm around Jade’s shoulder, “Hon, I know you try your hardest to plough through anything, but some things aren’t going to move as fast as you want them to.” Jade shook her head, “I fell like Eponine.” Anne paused for a moment, “How?” Jade sighed, “Draco could be a wonderful wizard, he has potential beyond most of the sots in his house, but he chooses to waste it all. Like Eponine, I see something there that is being thrown away and I can’t do a thing about it.” Anne smiled, “Eponine had a different life than you do, she was not an eighteen year old lass at Hogwarts, and she had no where to turn and no one to dump on. Don’t you forget that Angel and I are still here to help. We won’t let you down.” Jade nodded, “Yeah, I know. Thanks.” Anne had an idea, “I know it is cold, but tomorrow night is supposed to be clear, so how about you, Angel, and I going out to watch the stars for a while?” Jade almost smiled, “That sounds nice. Do you have the Potions exam ready for tomorrow?” Anne pulled a stack of paper from her end table, “I have bits and pieces of things I pulled together, but I can’t do much because I have not been in the Lab for the majority of the year. Perhaps you can help?” Jade took the papers, “O.K., let’s get to work.”

The next day Anne cancelled her class and gathered around as many blankets and warm things that she could for their stargazing party. The three ladies met in the dungeons and then walked out to the now frozen lake and sat down on the sloped bank to stare up at the stars. 

The next day, Anne had her class meet for one last time before Christmas break, giving them time to take a break in their studies to just relax. After her class, most of the students went outside to skate on the frozen lake. Angel skated off a bit on her own as Anne watched from the shore. She called out, “Watch this!” She jumped up into the air and landed wonderfully, the ice cracking beneath her. What was thought to be solid gave way under her, “ ** _ANGEL!_** ” screamed both Jade and Anne. Jade began to make her way there from the edge, but Draco had already arrived at the scene of the accident. Anne was fumbling to get her skates on. Draco slid down on his stomach and plunged his hands into the icy water, trying to grab Angel. Hermione assumed the same position just off to the side and behind Draco, “Go closer- I’ll keep you from falling in.” He glanced back at her and saw that she was serious. He slid closer to the hole and soon not only his arms were underwater, but he had gone in headfirst to try to see and drag out Angel. He kicked his legs and Hermione and the chain of Ron and Harry, Jade, Holli, and the other students pulled him from the water. Anne had finally gotten her skates on and pulled her cloak off. Draco carried Angel to her as fast as he could. She draped the cloak over Draco and took her child from him, “Thank you, Draco.” She skated off to the castle as fast as possible. It was then that Draco realized how cold he really was. Most of the other students had followed Anne into the castle, still wearing their skates and stumbling along. Jade skidded to a stop beside Draco, “You should have let me get her, at least then you wouldn’t have to worry about anyone you care about getting cold and wet, namely yourself.” Draco turned to her, “I can’t believe you, Jade, I just saved her life and all you can do is feel sorry for yourself.” Jade glared, “Since when do you care?” Draco’s teeth chattered, “I couldn’t let the kid die.” Jade nodded, “What a noble statement- would my father agree? Or would he have just let the daughter of his enemy drown? You can‘t let a kid die, but encouraging my death is no matter to you.” Draco was trying not to freeze, making his way to the lake edge, “I never encouraged your death!” “Oh, so telling me that I would be better of dead is not encouraging me to commit suicide? I should just skate out there and see if I fall through!” Draco was pulling off his skates and was quite exasperated, “Fine!” She began to skate away to the weaker ice when she heard a yell from the castle, “JADE!” she turned to listen, it was Holli, “Jade, come and help us with Anne, she’s a mess and needs you.” Jade shook her head, “No one needs me.” Holli pointed to Jade, “Jadelyn Adelaide Vanessa Riddle, you get in here this instant. Annelise needs you; you know it- stop talking this way and get your butt in here _now_.” Jade sighed and skated to the shore, tearing her skates of the shoes they were strapped to and passing Draco on her way, “Just you wait, kid, the day _will_ come.”

Jade entered the castle and followed Holli to the hospital wing where Anne was singing to herself to try to calm herself. Jade sat beside her and together the two women cried and embraced, hanging on to what little hope they had. 

Draco finally made it into the castle, his hair frozen to his head and his eyes nearly frosted shut. He stumbled to the hospital wing and saw Anne and Jade sitting together, both much calmer. Anne jumped up, “Oh my God…Draco, let’s go get you thawed out. Jade, keep watch on my love for me, I have to go be a mother to another woman’s child.” Jade nodded and Anne bustled off with Draco. Poppy soon came out in search of Anne. Jade made her report, “She’s off trying to thaw out Draco.” Poppy shook her head, “This has been one horrible day- Angel has steadied off, but she is not awake and we cannot revive her- we will just have to wait until she wakes on her own. You may go in with her now.” Jade went to sit with her Angel, Poppy went to find Anne. She finally tracked her down with Draco wrapped in a big black sweater and layers of blankets, his hair still quite wet, but the rest of him starting to warm. She brought him tea and began gather his wet clothes while he sipped it and Poppy spoke, “Angel is stable, but she is not awake. We cannot figure out how to wake her, so we are going to have to wait it for her to come to on her own.” Anne sighed, “Alright. Poppy, look over Draco, will you? He is not terribly well at this moment after pulling Angel out of the lake.” Poppy did as she was asked and nodded to Anne, “He will be in top shape in a matter of days- you did well, Anne- you would make a good nurse.” Anne smiled, “Thank you- I think that it is a Mum thing.” Poppy smiled and left the room. Anne had Draco finish his tea and took all his wet things to the laundry after she had walked him back to Slytherin house. She carried the cloak she had lent him back to the dungeons with her along with the blankets that she had bundled up Draco in. She sighed and hung the cloak on one of a series of pegs she had recently put up in the front corner of the room on the other side of the loft from the door and smiled, had Severus not been gone, she would have never been able to steal his cloak and if she had not been able to steal the cloak, Draco would have probably frozen to death. She laughed a little; something good _had_ come out of his absence.

Most of the students left for home on Saturday for Christmas break. Crabbe and Goyle both left, but Draco stayed. He came to Anne on Monday, “Thanks for Thursday- here is your sweater. I am staying for break- Father wrote to me and told me he had business to conduct and I should stay here unless he called for me. He didn’t call, so I guess I am here.” Anne nodded, “It is not you who should be thanking- thank you for pulling my baby out- even if she has not yet awaken, she is alive because of you.” He shrugged, “What else could I have done?” He turned and walked away, leaving Anne standing in the doorway holding the sweater and wondering what to make of Draco Malfoy.

December sixteenth, Tuesday: Both Jade and Anne received letters from Severus. Jade’s simply told her that he missed her and wished that he could be home, but his duties forbid it. Anne’s, on the other hand, was a little longer,

_Lise-_

_I have met and am staying with the Schetzek women, both of whom are exceptionally wonderful people- I did not think they would be as open minded and as sweet as they are. They both are very eager to hear from you through your letters to me and they love to hear about you and Angel. They want to see you after this is all over and they want to meet Angel also. They told me that they never doubted you would be a fine mother because you were a nanny for a spell. How come you never told me this? No matter, I miss you and Angel dearly and wish I could be home by your side._

_~Severus_

Anne smiled as she read it again. She then took it to the hospital wing and read it aloud to Angel’s unconscious form. She sat there with her daughter for the rest of the day.

Wednesday, Jade’s attitude began to decline. She was getting depressed again and Anne was not there to help her. She was mostly getting worse because of Angel, she missed her little friend and was losing hope that she would ever wake up. On Thursday she sent Draco an owl with a little note attached,

“ _She should have died sooner;_

_There should have been a time for such a thing.”_

Draco read the letter on the nineteenth and set it aside, Jade was always so melodramatic, she took what someone could have pitied and annoyed them with it instead. He ignored it, but then noticed that Jade was no where to be found the entire day. He shook his head; she probably had just locked herself in her room again. The only problem was that there was no sign of her on Saturday either. Sunday morning he found Anne on her own in her chamber praying. He watched her slowly stand from where she had been on her knees and replaced the couch cushion that she had been kneeling on. She noticed Draco in the doorframe, “What do you need?” He handed her the letter, “I got it Friday and haven’t seen her since. There may be a problem. I may have been a little unreasonable with her. Here- these are all the other things she has written to me.” Anne read through the letters and noted the dates at the top of each, “Come with me- we are going to find Albus and Minerva and we are going to start a search.”

They combed the castle the entire day and still had not found her; Anne did not sleep that night, worrying that Jade could be injured or worse. Draco did not sleep either. He stayed up all night reading and re-reading the letters and thinking about what he had said to Jade. Really, he concluded, it all was her fault. The next morning, Anne met him outside Slytherin house with coffee, “Here- have a cappuccino- it will wake you up enough to get you through the morning. Yours is caramel mocha.” He took a sip and discovered he liked this concoction. Anne smiled at him, “This is an American obsession, I lived off this stuff in college- especially if I pulled an all-nighter and then had an exam that next day.” They met with Minerva and Albus in the Great Hall. Hagrid joined them, “Anne, we’re goin’ t’ search th’ forest today.” She nodded, “I will go and get my coat. Draco- are your warm things available?” He wiped whipped cream from his cappuccino from his lip, “Yeah, why?” She pointed to the stairs, “Go get them; you are coming with Hagrid and I into the forest.”

Anne wrapped Severus’ heavy cloak around her closer and shivered, watching her breath swirl in front of her as they made their way farther into the forest. Draco stumbled over a branch- he obviously was too tired to keep going, “Go to bed, Draco, we will find her- if anyone asks, I dismissed you, but you better be in bed when I get back there or Slytherin will be docked more house points than ever before in one sitting.” Draco nodded and turned around to retrace their footsteps in the snow. Anne told Hagrid what she had done and the continued their search. Near three o’clock, Hagrid called to Anne, “Anne! I think I found ‘er!” Anne raced over as Hagrid pulled a snow covered figure from the snow. Anne wrapped her in her cloak as Jade moaned. Hagrid carried Jade back to the castle and to the hospital wing. Anne went to tell Draco that they had found Jade and discovered him soundly sleeping in his bed.

The next day was a Tuesday and Anne went to talk to Draco about the entire Jade situation. She and he sat across from each other at a table in the empty Great Hall, “Look, I know that you think she started this whole thing, but regardless of that, she sees something in you that she doesn’t want you to miss. She told me that she sees so much potential in you that she doesn’t understand why you follow a path that would warrant its destruction. She can’t understand the decision you have made, so she tries to change it.” “I really haven’t said yes or no to my father yet about becoming a Death Eater- it is why I do not have the Dark Mark on my arm- I never did decide,” he said and shrugged. Anne sighed, “Well, she is under the impression that you have- can you think of one thing that could have made her think that way? The same reason she was so upset the beginning of the year and all this animosity escalated as far as it did?” He looked off to the Slytherin banner for a moment, “Belfast.” Anne nodded, “Got it- think about it, the only reason she saw for you showing any interest in her was for your own image in the eyes of your father. She saw it as an approval incident in which she was being used. That hurt her, and pretty badly too. Don’t blame yourself for the entirety of her condition, I think she is depressed and, along with your bickering, Angel not waking up has had a toll on her- hell, it has a toll on us all too some extent. Realize that she doesn’t hate you; she just doesn’t want you to end up like so many people both she and I know, ruined by their pursuit of power in the Dark Arts. She doesn’t want you to end up having to live like me.” Draco sighed, “I guess then she has a good excuse doesn’t she?” Anne nodded, “Yeah, she does.” Draco fidgeted with his hands, “What should I do?” She smiled, some of the worry fading from her face, “Go and try to talk to her- I think that you two just need to sit down and sort through everything.” He rose, “Thanks.” Anne walked with him to the door, “Poppy won’t let anyone see her until Christmas day- she wants Jade to be at least a little recovered before she tries to explain herself to anyone.” Draco nodded once more and left for Slytherin house. Anne went to the hospital wing and sat with Angel.

On Christmas Eve Anne did not do anything outside of the hospital wing. She was not allowed to see Jade, but she did help Poppy to take care of Angel. That evening, Anne sang to her little girl songs that they had sung together in different churches on Christmas Eve. She was singing ‘ ** _Silent Night_** ’ when Angel grunted and opened her eyes. Anne stopped singing and laughed, “Angel! Oh God, thank You….” She hugged her child as Poppy brought Albus and Minerva into the room to check in. Poppy let out a whoop of delight. Minerva clapped, and Albus gave the biggest grin of all them. Angel let Anne sit back and tilted her head to the side, “I’m sorry about Jade- how is she doing?” Minerva and Poppy had no idea how she could even know that Jade was injured. Albus answered her, “Jadelyn is not allowed to have visitors until tomorrow, but she is doing fairly well.” Anne took Angel’s hands, “Who told you about Jade?” Angel grinned, “Vanessa- she and I had quite the time. I watched it all happen, kind of like a movie- I saw Jade write her letters, and I saw her run to the woods. The thing is, no one would let me go back here to help- they all knew something I didn’t- that Jade had to run off and get near froze- something still has to happen as a result of it that hasn’t yet happened. I talked more to the pretty lady too- she told me that Severus was doing pretty well and that he liked Chloë and Elenore. I also heard your letter-thanks, I really liked hearing it. Oh, Mum, Jon says ‘Hi’ and wants me to pass on a message- he says, ‘go ahead’. They all told me that it was not my time to join them and that I could only visit for a while. Then they sent me back. It was cool to get to hang out with them for a little while.” Minerva was confused, “Who is she talking about?” Albus answered, “Spirits, Minerva. Angel can speak to spirits. While she was not with us, she was with the spirits who give her the information that she uses as a seer.” Angel grinned, “When I get to take divination, I am going to have a ball.” The laughed and Anne hugged her girl, “I’m just glad that you are back with us, love.”

On Christmas Day Draco made his way to the hospital wing and, after saying a brief hello to Angel and Anne in another part of the ward, found Jade. He stood next to her in silence for a moment, then spoke, “Jade, why did you run off?” She stared straight ahead, “Why do you care? You want me dead.” He leaned back against the wall at the head of her bed, “Um…not really.” She hmpf’ed, “Gee, having a change of heart, are we?” He was uncomfortable having to be so honest with her, “Anne and I talked.” Jade’s voice, though still soft because of damage sustained in the cold, spoke disinterest, “Yeah?” He continued, “We really aren’t to terribly different.” Jade scoffed, “Whatever.” He pressed his point, “We both want to define ourselves, to find our niche in society, to find what truth is to us-” She cut him off, “I don’t believe in relativistic truth.” He recovered, “Well, we both want a little recognition.” She nodded, “There I can agree.” He smiled, “Just from different sources.” She sighed, “Damn straight. My father is a sick, unfeeling bastard who doesn’t even care about my mother- she is just his after hours hobby. I don’t even call him true family.” Draco was puzzled, “Why not? His power is an advantage to you.” She shook her head, “Power unchecked is a menace.” He was still confused, “What are you saying?” She clarified, her voice slightly hoarse, “Unrestrained power leads to Holocausts. I won’t be part of that- my family is Nigel, Angel, Anne, and Severus more than Adelaide and Voldemort.” Draco shrugged, “There is no good or evil, only power and those to weak to seek it.” Jade took a sip of water before continuing, “Death Eater propaganda- I recognize that trash. It is where I will prevail over you. I have power, but I know how to restrain it. The fact that I have such control is what gains respect- that I don’t go off and kill anyone I disagree with. I am not feared, and with respect, not fear, will I feel good preside over evil and bring it down. You follow one who would like to see Anne and Severus dead, someone who had Angelique orphaned, and, had Anne not been the last one out of that house, would have had Angel killed too. Think about your so called like of Anne and tell me: if it really came down to the wire and Voldemort came for her or someone she loved, where would you stand? Would you stand beside him either by participating yourself, or by turning a cold shoulder to her plight, or would you stand there, betraying all parties and feeling no loyalties? Would you defend a mother and child facing the most evil monster on their own, ready to sacrifice your own well being, perhaps even your life, to protect them? Assess your loyalties, find where they really lie, and then tell me if good and evil exist.” She seemed to deflate, her body sinking into the bed. Draco was lost I thought, “ _If I ally myself with Anne or Angel, I betray my father, but if there is only power, then I should have no reason not to chose the life of a Death Eater…but the conflict does exist! I’ll think more on it tomorrow._ ” As he left the room, Jade called after him, “Merry Christmas.”

Anne meanwhile had gone to fetch the little box that Severus had left with her. She sat beside Angel and opened it, finding a little note inside,

_This was Vanessa’s. I pass it on to you. Merry Christmas._

Anne looked beneath the note and found an onyx drop necklace, the stone the size of her smallest fingernail, the gold clutch that held the stone attached to a little gold wire that spiralled once around the pendant. Anne pulled it out and clasped the fine gold chain around her neck, finding that the pendant dangled just below the little gold cross that she was rarely without. Angel smiled, “That is beautiful- go show Jade.” Jade agreed with Angel’s assessment. Anne fingered the pendant gingerly, thinking of what it must have meant for him to give up this- it had been his sister’s, his closest sibling and one of the few people who had listened to him early on. Anne felt a great honour swelling within her- to be trusted to keep this remnant of love past was an inspiration and a hope of what had yet to come.

The next day Draco entered the hospital wing and was handed a letter by Anne, “She told me to spend the time away today- she wants time to be only with Angel and that is what she will get.” Draco took the letter, “What about you?” Anne smiled, “I am returning to the dungeons, there is much to be done before classes start again. Angel and I started sifting through plans yesterday evening and today I was up very early to begin getting both classrooms in shape for the upcoming semester. It is a lot of work, but once it is done I will be set until Severus returns.” Draco nodded, “What if he doesn’t? I mean, what if he doesn’t return this semester?” Anne fingered the pendent again, “Well then, I will finish out the year and pray for the best.”

Draco walked back to the otherwise empty common room. It was odd to him that no one else in his house had stayed for the holidays, which meant that they were all with their families, yet he was not allowed to be. He was very suspicious of his father for this. Really, not seeing Lucius wasn’t exactly something to be terribly disappointed about, Draco thought, at least he wasn’t being pressured to be a Death Eater or being hit for not doing something while he was at Hogwarts. He unfolded the letter that Jade sent and read,

_Draco-_

_Surprised? I actually used your first name._

_You struggle with absolute truth, yet the only absolute that I can pass on is that of God who you obviously deny by following the path of your father, even if you do not see it. I ask you the next time you see Anne to really look at that woman, see the pain that lives within her everyday. She is tormented by what she has seen and done and the only person she can confide in is missing- she hurts terribly now. Do you want to live like that? Do you want to be the one swimming in a current so tainted that it contaminates all who even touch a drop of what it carries? Or are you going to see that power is not all that it is cracked up to be?_

_I leave you this in Angel’s name:_

_Jadelyn Adelaide Vanessa Riddle_

He stared at the paper again and tried to remember the last time he had really looked at Anne- or anyone for that matter. He read the letter again, wondering if Jade had ever really looked at him.

December twenty-seventh, Jade was sitting up in bed, resting on a pile of pillows reading a book that Anne had lent her. She did not look up when Draco entered, waiting for him to make the first move. He cleared his throat, “I…um…read your letter.” She lowered the book but did not glance in his direction, “Really- and?” He sighed, “Tell me her story- why she looks so tired all the time.” Jade set her book aside, “Can you keep a secret?” Draco’s brow wrinkled in confusion, “I thought she told us pretty much everything in class.” Jade smirked, “Do you really think that she would tell you everything? I can tell you the biggest thing that she left out if you can keep your mouth shut.” He nodded, “Alright.” Jade became completely serious, “Swear on your life that you shall not tell a soul what I am about to tell you?” Draco responded in the same manner, “Yes.” She sighed, “O.K., first off, the person she was supposed to kill in the Underground was her Cambridge room-mate, not just a stranger. That, however is minor news compared to the other thing that she did not tell the class- Anne had a husband, was married to him for one day, and Voldemort had him killed. This is Anne’s secret, the one thing that she will only tell to the Snape family and Angel- it is the reason that she is so tentative in her relationships, I mean, the woman has only formed one really close friendship with a staff member; she’s not exactly an open door- there is a grand façade there.” Draco was in shock, “She’s been married?” Jade gave a sad smile, “Yeah, she knew love once and now she fears it because she fears losing the one she loves again. She was only nineteen when he was killed. That is why she was so paralysed by Angel’s accident at first- not only as a mother who could have lost her only child, but as someone who cannot bear to lose again. The loss of her husband and her sister to Voldemort damaged her.” Draco shook his head and stared at the opposite wall, “That is an awful way to lose someone.” Jade nodded, “Yeah, murder sucks. I could tell you another’s tale.” He was puzzled again, “Who?” She swallowed hard, “I can’t tell you a name- the person would kill me.” Draco prodded, “Come on, if I can promise to keep Anne’s secret, I am sure that I can keep this one too.” Jade’s voice was going hoarse, “Swear.” He handed her a glass of water, “Yes, ma’am- on my life.” Jade cleared her throat, “This story has not come to light to anyone but myself and the one who told it to me. At the beginning of his years of Hogwarts he was a hopeful, optimistic kid with a bright, vibrant personality. He knew more charms in his first year than many did in their seventh. His second year came and despite trying to fit in as hard as he could, his older sister’s friends did not want him around, even though his sister loved him dearly. He kept trying to find a group of kids to fit in with through his second year here, but gave up at the beginning of his third. What once was a happy kid was turning into a wisp of a lad who wanted nothing but to hide in the darkness alone. He began to fall in with a rather nasty lot and some of the more popular kids began to torment him for fun. After public humiliation in his fifth year and being replaced on the Quiddich team, his sister died in his sixth year and he nearly died later that year. He began helping friends in the dark arts the next year. That was when things started to really turn for the worse, as if they already hadn’t. His father found out what he was doing at eighteen and warned him that any further activity would cause him to be disowned. He eventually joined the Death Eaters, was disowned, his mother died, his sister slept around, but finally something good happened when he was twenty three. He met a young woman in the Dark Arts during a particularly tough depressive spell and she began to fill his soul. He was in love. He killed his brother the next year as a test of loyalty and then things fell apart again- he failed an important task and his love died. He ran away later that year.” Draco looked at Jade slightly stunned as she sipped her water, “That’s awful- do I know this man?” Jade sighed, “There are few who can.” Draco’s mind was working, “Have I seen him around?” Jade gave him a sly little smile, “I honestly will not give you any information to that sort. There are so many stories I have heard of those who have parted from the Dark Lord only to die alone and forlorn, and there are many who I know of whose stories lie locked in their grave, in Azkaban, or in the cobwebs of their mind. Now, Draco, I am very tired and I need to rest alone.” He nodded, “Oh, O.K., I’ll come by tomorrow.” Jade smiled softly and closed her eyes.

Draco came to the hospital wing the next day with a few flowers that he had managed to swipe from the greenhouse for Jade; he thought that maybe it would make her feel a little better. He was slightly embarrassed when he found Albus, Minerva, Poppy, and a very frazzled and sleepless Anne hovering around Jade and he was walking up to them carrying flowers. Anne gave him a sad smile and quickly found a vase. She placed the flowers in it, “I’ll go put these in some water for you.” Draco watched her leave and then turned to the others, “What’s happening here?” Poppy sighed, “She’s unconscious and we cannot revive her- unfortunately, we also do not know why she is not awake.” Albus stepped aside to allow Draco to come beside him near Jade’s head, “Draco, we are unsure if Miss Riddle will survive the day, and the odds are even more against her for surviving the night after that.” Draco was in shock; Minerva kindly addressed him as Anne returned and set the vase on the night stand, “Would you like to stay with her for a while?” He managed to mutter out, “Yes, ma’am.” Anne broke in, “I…I…have to go tell my baby what is going on here- since she has been back to the chamber I have not let her stay all her day up here- I should have…she needs to know….” Minerva watched Anne leave, nearly knocking over a tray as she did and catching the doorframe with her elbow, “I am going to keep a watch on her- she has been dealing with so much lately.” Albus turned to Poppy, “Let us depart as well and leave Draco to himself for a while.” Draco mumbled, “Thank you, sir.” and then sat down on a tall chair on the side of Jade’s bed opposite the door so he could see who entered. Once he was alone he began to speak, “Jade, I though about what you said and well, I don’t want to live or die like that. I don’t want to end up broken with all my dreams shattered. The problem is that I don’t know how not to end up like that. What do I do, tell my father to go to hell? Damn it, Jade, you can’t die now! I need…your…help. Jade, I can’t do this on my own; I need you to back me up, to push me on. I need you, Jade. I CAN’T DO THIS ALONE! Telling my father ‘no’ is suicide! You are stronger than his threats.” Meanwhile, Angel had slipped in the door, undetected by Draco. Angel stood by the chair, “She told her father ‘no‘.” Draco was startled for a moment, “Sorry ‘bout that, Draco. Anyhow, she told her father ‘no’ just by living and refusing to cave in- of course, her father was also without a body for the most of her life, so she really didn’t have too much of an opportunity to come head to head with him. She denied his power over her and that was her defiance- to add insult to injury, she dared to love those he hated- Severus, Mum, me, even Nigel.” She climbed up on Draco’s lap, “It’s all a matter of conviction and self-definition, really.” She took Jade’s hand and began to talk to Jade, “C’mon sis, pull through this- at least for Mum, she can’t take this much longer. She’s all a mess because Severus is gone and she worries about him all the time. I can’t take care of her on my own; I’m only a kid and a sick one at that. You’ve gotta help me, babe, you gotta. If you can survive a whole summer without going insane from your mother, you can handle this. You’re stronger that this, YOU’RE STRONGER THAN THIS! Don’t give up- Momma needs you too much; Severus needs you too- he says you are like a daughter to him; Nigel needs you ‘cause you are his only grandbaby; Draco needs you no matter how hard he’s gonna try to hide it after this- you are the only one who can help him beat this thing; lastly, I need you ‘cause you are my big sis and best friend besides Mum. Also, if you pull through, then we can say we defeated death- kinda like Jesus, but not really- we just stood from far off and mocked death from a distance, Jesus spit in his eye.” Angel turned around and hugged Draco, “Don’t you worry now, she’ll come through this alright- ‘Nessa’s lookin’ out for her.” Angel slid to the floor, “I’ve gotta go help Mum organize the Lab and her room for start of term- keep your head high and an eye on her for me.” Draco nearly smiled at Angel, wondering how such a little sprite could be so strong and somehow so touching, “I will.” She shot him a confident grin and skipped off. Draco and Jade were once again alone, “Come on, Jade, you know that I would be the last person to admit that you might be right about where I was going, but you made me think about stuff that I never wanted to question. Things that didn’t make sense for me to question. If good and evil did not exist, then I should have let Angel die to undermine the whole lot of you that Father hates, but I couldn’t- for some reason I just couldn’t let her drown. I already felt bad enough that I was the reason Anne had been exposed especially after she treated me like I was her own son there on the Quiddich field and when I had come in frozen from the icy water. She even held me responsible in coming to look for you- as much as I hate taking responsibility for ill I have caused, it made sense how she did it- more of a loving discipline rather than a punishment. For some reason that just made me realize what a unique and caring person she is. Her own daughter near froze and her condition uncertain, but she leaves her in the care of others to help me who had no one. How did she do that? Why? Father had hinted all summer about some big plans coming around that he would want my help in- I thought about that last night, and then about how Anne treated me and I realized that, even though this may sound weird, I would rather help Anne and Angel than him. I don’t know why, but I just think that I would.” He took a few breaths and then said in exasperation, “God, Jade! I can’t do this without you!” He clutched her hand as his voice began to crack with emotion, “For once in my life I am willing to admit that I need someone and it is you- I need you, Jade…don’t you see? You can’t die….” his voice faded off as he tried to hold back tears. A gentle hand landed on his shoulder; Draco turned to see Anne standing just behind him, still as rumpled as earlier but bringing him a lunch tray, “Oh! Hi, how long have you been there?” Anne smiled compassionately, “Not long- only since you said that you couldn’t do this without her. Come on, you need a Mum hug and since yours isn’t here, I’ll play the substitute.” He took a quick hug and then realized that he was letting a few tears slip down his cheeks. He hastily wiped them away, “Thanks, Anne.” She smiled a sad sort of smile that was becoming more and more her normal smile, “No problem- that is part of the job of being a mother- you care for all the kids of the world, whether they are yours or not.” “Um…Anne?” She tilted her head, “Yeah?” He continued, “Jade swore me to silence, but….” Anne sighed, “What?” He was slightly nervous and wondering if he was quite sane, “Jade told me a little more of your history.” Anne nodded, “About my husband Jon and my room-mate.” He was puzzled, “How did you know that was what she told me about?” Anne laughed a little, “Other than the fact that there is very little that she knew about me that you did not, I told her long ago that if she felt it meaningful to tell someone what I had lived though then I trusted her judgement. Let it go no farther.” He shook his head, “it’s safe with me. She also told me another story- one without a name.” She sighed, “I think I know to whom you and she are referring, though I cannot be certain for he has not yet told me personally what he told Jade. He told her while we were out at Nigel’s house this summer.” Draco was curious, “Who is this Nigel?” “Her grandfather on her mother’s side. Her mother was out partying all the time and did not want to appear to have a child and Jade’s father was without form, so Nigel raised Jade the same way he had raised his four children years before, though Jade certainly had some unique circumstances about her.” Draco paused a moment, “Anne- Jade said she had powers that she restrains- what is she talking about?” Anne did not answer immediately, “Jade will reveal what she can do as she feels ready.” Draco nodded, “I’m going to stay the night here.” Anne smiled that sad smile, “Good idea- her greatest fear is dying alone.” Draco’s face twisted as though he were trying to remember something, “Anne, a curiosity- Angel mentioned that Snape needed Jade, is there a relation?” Anne nodded, “He is her uncle. Her mother is his younger sister, Nigel’s youngest child.” Draco just stopped, “Snape’s the other story, isn’t he?” Anne froze and then sighed, “If you ever tell a soul what you know, Jade will probably break both your legs.” He shrugged, “I swore not to tell on my life.” “And Jade will take that seriously- I’ll cage you if you tell anything living, dead, or inanimate.” He grinned, “Don’t worry- its safe with me.” She rose, “I have to get back to cleaning.” He nodded, “Good luck.” After she left, he whispered, “Your story is enough to make me want to steer away from the path I am already on.”

The next morning Jade awoke at ten o’clock to find Draco slumped asleep in his chair, still clutching her hand. She smiled and whispered, “Well what a surprise…,” she squeezed his hand and tried to sit up a little, “wake up, Draco….” He groaned and sat up, his back cracking as he did, “”What?” As he realized who had spoken he smiled, “Jade, you’re awake.” She nodded, her voice was still very soft and she was obviously exhausted, “Yeah, I made it.” He grinned as an awkward silence rose between them, “Yeah.” She sighed, “Miss me?” He cleared his throat, “Um….” She squeezed his hand again, “Face it, boy- you did.” He resigned, “Yeah.” She laughed a little, “So, did I scare you?” He shrugged, “Not a bit- I knew you were going to be fine.” She shook her head slowly, “You lie like a rug.” He laughed, “What?” She settled back against the pillows, “Draco Malfoy, I heard every word you said last night and you lie like a rug- you were more afraid of my possible death than Angel was.” He was puzzled, “You heard?” Jade nodded a little, “Yeah, it was weird, I was watching everything the entire night like a movie- my body was here, but I couldn’t move it. It was strange; I wasn’t even really even in my body- I was floating above it. I had a choice to make- I could either come back here, I could die and move on, or I could keep floating there and when my body died I would be a ghost. The only thing was that I couldn’t make the decision until Angel, Anne, and you had all gone to sleep and it was after midnight.” Draco looked at her and made a face that questioned her decision, “You _chose_ to come back here? You were trying to leave it so adamantly.” Jade sighed, her body did not want to stay awake, “Yeah, I knew after all three of you spoke that there was so much more here that I had to see done. The greatest things that I can do with my life have yet to come- I can help Anne to get through Severus’ disappearance, I can help her to raise Angel while she is teaching, I can teach, I can change lives- not only those of the family, but yours as well- and think of the turning point you are at, if I were to leave now, where would you be? How many lives would be lost if you don’t go through with this resolution?” He noticed that she had not yet released his hand, “I guess you were right to stay then.” She shot him her Cheshire cat grin, “Of course I am, I’m Jadelyn.” Uncertain, he continued, “Um…did you hear what Anne told me?” She laughed, “Yeah- I wouldn’t only break your legs.” He chuckled, “I know- I would be worse than dead.” She nodded and then sighed, “Hug?” He was a bit surprised, “Why?” She shrugged, “I didn’t take your original advice.” He bent over her and as she struggled to sit up, he wrapped his arms around her, “I’m glad you didn’t.” Poppy bustled into the room and froze, “Minerva! Albus! She’s awake!” Draco lowered Jade back to the pillows and then sat up, both of them grinning ear to ear. Minerva called from the hall as Albus entered, “I’m going to go let Anne and Angel know what is happening.” Albus made his way to her side, “Welcome back, Miss Riddle.” She nodded, “Thank you, sir.” Angel bounded in the room, “JADE!!” Jade turned to see her, “Angel baby, come on here for a hug.” Draco lifted Angel to his lap so she could reach Jade. Angel clamoured right onto Jade’s bed and gave her the biggest hug possible for a nine year old, “I knew you were going to make it.” Jade gave her a peck on the cheek, “That’s my girl.” Anne finally staggered into the room wearing her bathrobe and slippers over top of her night-dress with Minerva, “…so she dragged me out of bed and pushed me into the hall, telling me all the way that Vanessa had given her a thumbs up and told her to go check upstairs. That is why we were only just down the hall.” she turned to Jade, “Hey, honey- how are you feeling?” Jade and Anne embraced, “Pretty damn good- you?” Anne laughed as they pulled apart, “Not to shabby, considering.” Jade nodded, “Good to hear that- as soon as I am out of here I’ll help you with the cleaning and planning for next semester- don’t worry, we’ll get it all done. Actually, if you bring me a planner now, I can start work while I am still stuck in bed.” Draco shook his head, “You are resting fro at least today and tomorrow, and then you can think about doing work.” She raised an eyebrow, “Since when do you tell me what to do?” He shrugged, “I don’t know.” She continued, “Well stop it, what you suggested makes too much sense.” He laughed, “Anne, don’t let her…” Anne yawned, “Don’t worry, she’s gonna get her rest before she does anything of the sort. On New Year’s Eve, if she is feeling up to it, she can come down to the party and then sleep through the first. Work will begin on the second.” Jade shot Anne a teasing grin, “Procrastinator.” Angel joined the conversation, “Actually, we are near done with Mum’s plans and yesterday we went over Potions plans and started cleaning the Lab- it was dusty.” Jade approved, “Efficiency, good job, ladies!” Angel gave her a high-five, “Amen, sister, amen!” Anne lifted Angel back to the ground, “Come on, let’s go back to work and let Jade rest. The more rest she gets, the faster she is able to join us.” Angel bounced to the door, “Rest lots!” Jade smiled as they left, following them with her eyes. She sighed when they were gone, “Good God, Anne looks terrible- I’ve never seen her with bags under her eyes and so unsteady before.” Draco nodded, “She’s worn out.” Albus picked up the explanation, “Worry has been taking its toll on her. She was worried about you and Angel, she is terrified of what may happen to Severus, she is tired from planning and cleaning, and lastly she is an emotional mess.” Draco’s face was set with determination, “When classes start again, I am going to make sure that Slytherin house keeps in line.” Jade looked surprised, “You a prefect?” He nodded, “Yeah, I am.” Jade shook her head, “What do you know, a Malfoy using his power for someone other than himself…the world must be coming to an end.” Albus and Minerva left the room as Draco smiled at Jade and said, “Let’s hope that it keeps going out this well then.”

New Years Eve brought another owl from Severus,

_Lise-_

_Things here aren’t nearly as well as they were the last time. I keep finding out things that I cannot believe. I am astounded by some of the things that have come to pass because of this group and I am wondering more and more about you. When I get home we will have to chat about such things. Unfortunately, I do not think that it will be anytime soon. I have been followed too many times and am being so careful not to get Chloë and Elenore found that it is slowing my progress. I miss my Hogwarts ladies, all three of you._

_~Severus._

Anne read the letter to Angel and then went to read it to Jade, who she found walking around the hospital wing with Draco. She let Jade read the letter and then took it back to her chambers where she was preparing for the party that night. 

They celebrated the coming year in music and with and the old television set that Anne had somehow made work last year. They sang and danced well into the night, pausing only to shout the countdown to the New Year. Jade sat on the couch to reserve her energies and Draco stuck with her. Anne was not terribly surprised at this- they seemed to be forming a very strong bond between them- Anne hoped that it was going to last. At four in the morning the party goers stumbled back to their respective houses. Jade went next door and crashed. Draco paused on his way out of the room, “Anne, do you think that I could crash here for the night?” Anne nodded and pulled out the couch. No one in those two chambers woke up until January second except Anne. She woke at noon and composed a letter to Severus,

_Severus-_

_Things here are fine- everyone is doing well right now, though we are all a bit tired from New Years Eve and currently Angel is sleeping in the loft, Jade is out like a light next door and Draco has crashed on the couch. A bit of good news is that he has decided to rebel against his father and, with Jade’s help, is starting to try to turn himself around. I will explain how_ that _happened when you get home. I am sorry to hear that you are delayed and that you will not be home soon. We miss you greatly._

_~Lise._

She fell asleep around two and slept through to nine o’clock in the morning on the second to find Angel just getting up and Draco sitting at the table reading **_The Phantom of the Opera_** that had been tossed there the day Severus had come to tell Angel and Anne that he was going to Cambridge. Anne tossed her blankets aside and grabbed her bathrobe and her basket with the work-dress she had last worn when fixing up the house for Severus tossed over it, “I am going to go shower and change- then it will be time to get back to work with plans and cleaning the Lab.” Draco set the book down as Angel slid down the rope ladder and gathered her clothes for the day and followed Anne out of the door to shower. Draco checked in on Jade; she was still asleep. He went back to the empty Slytherin house and showered and changed for the day, returning to the Dungeons to wait for Anne and Angel- he wanted to do all he could to help Anne who looked so worn.

Anne dropped her letter off at the owlry with Angel before they returned to find Draco waiting for them. She was delighted to find him willing and ready to help. Classes were going to be tough to get through and Anne knew that she would need all the help she could get in order to keep her patience and her head about her.


	5. 5

Classes resumed on January fifth. Anne was not only teaching her own class, but she was also teaching Potions. She had started to teach her students about the importance of technical crews in theatre and what each crew was. They started with the Prop crew and for the entire month of January they studied the different tasks of a Prop crew. It took them all of January because Anne cancelled her classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that she could grade and return all the work that the Potions classes did. Angel was recovering, but not all that well. Jadelyn, however, was doing much better. She and Draco spent hours together in the library discussing the history of the Dark Arts and what it had been responsible for. They also went through the history of Slytherin house and the fates of its members. Draco was beginning to discover his true self and as he had said, he tried to get his house to lessen up their hindrances in Anne’s classes. Anne had wanted her students to do a year end play, but due to the amount of time she spent in the Lab, it was not working. She made an announcement on February second, “Alright, we started on Costumes crew last week and we will be finishing it this week. Then we will be working on Set crew, Lighting, and Sound. I have chosen a play for you to perform from the ones that we read this last semester- we will be bringing Trifles up to production quality. That means that we will have to work our butts off to get it ready for our April opening. We are scheduled to open this show on April nineteenth for students and staff only. On the twentieth we will open it to the Ministry and then on the twenty-first we will open to the general public, both Wizard and Muggle and we will run through the twenty-third. For this show we will form small crews that will run their aspects of the show during production. I will be running this as if it were professional. I do ask that you all prepare what I ask you to, I am running on empty right now and it doesn’t look too promising that I will get a refill anytime soon.”

The play was not a long one, in Anne’s book that she used it was only six pages. She held auditions that Wednesday for the five characters in the play. 

George Henderson, county attorney: Neville Longbottom  
Henry Peters, sheriff Zack Pitman  
Lewis Hale, neighbouring farmer Ron Weasley  
Mrs. Peters Holli MacCumhail  
Mrs. Hale Susan Bones

She began rehearsing with those five on Friday, leaving Jade in charge as an acting coach. She meanwhile took her other students aside, “Alright, you have already read this play- I am going to teach you how to draft a floor plan for a set and then how to build a scale model today. Your homework will be to take the materials that are over in that corner pile and give me a few set designs for this play. You will be able to get in here all weekend, I will make sure that either Jade or myself is up here at some time so we can give you all the time you need to figure out a design- we will be working with the space of the platform in the Great Hall. Let us begin.”

On Monday the design students met again to present their designs and figure out what to use for the set and the acting students met to rehearse. Anne then assigned more tasks, “Ginny, I want you and Hermione to act as Props crew for this show. You will gather and keep track of props. During the run of the show you will make sure that everything is where it needs to be and that it all gets put away afterward. You two can start on gathering now, but they will not be ready to rehearse with them until the beginning of April. Elenore, Ginny, and Cho, I want you to be our Costumes crew. You must collect, make, or otherwise find the costumes for this show that I would like you to start designing now. Both Costumes and Props should have their designs and lists of needed materials for me on Friday. Costumes will then get the things needed and store them so they can be rehearsed with starting at the beginning of April. You will also be responsible for makeup for the cast and getting it on them. We will go over this at a closer date. We will be using the sound system that I set up occasionally for this task and I have been able to retrieve my old lighting system to set up here. I would like Draco to run lights and Harry to run sounds. Zack, I would like you to be our Electrics float, which means you will help both Harry and Draco with whatever they need for set-up and tear-down along with troubleshooting during the run of the show. This will not be rehearsed until a week before the show starts. Crabbe, Goyle, Brittany, and Angel will all be our Running Crew who will set up the set pieces at the beginning of each show. This is what we will be building. Props, Costumes, and Electrical crews will be working on this with Running Crew after their other duties are done. Alright, Costumes and Props- start working on your plans, everyone else; let’s figure out how we are going to build this thing.”

The week flew by and on Friday Anne found herself approving costume renderings and props lists, along with her Wednesday assignment to the Electrical crew to design lighting and sounds together. Somehow Draco and Harry managed to collaborate without trying to kill each other once and Zack reported that it even could have been called a positive experience. Anne was pleasantly surprised. She set them to work on their next task (gathering) while the Set crew wandered around the castle trying to find set pieces so they would not have to build them.

Saturday was Valentines Day. Jade and Draco wandered off somewhere together early in the day, Angel followed, Ginny met Zack early in the day and planned to have dinner together in the Astronomy tower, leaving Anne by herself. She wandered off to the room with the piano that she had not visited in some time. She sat there and began to play. After a while she began to sing too. She was interrupted by an owl coming with letter which she eagerly tore open.

Lise-

I cannot say that much to give me hope has happened in the last few months since I wrote last, it has been rather dismal weather wise and the work is frustrating me- there is not a thing I can do to expedite the process and there is not a thing that I can do to block all the unpleasant things that I am discovering from depressing me just a bit. I haven’t found anything that I could pass on to Albus that would give me leave and it is horrible doing this day in and out. I can keep Voldemort from entering my memories, I am skilled at Occlumency, the defence of the mind against intrusion, but that does not give aid when the assault is from within. I want to get out of here soon.

~Severus

Anne set the letter aside; it did nothing to make her feel better. She went back to playing the piano when a knock came on the door and Minerva slipped in the room and closed the door after her. Anne ended her piece and turned to Minerva, “Hi.” Minerva smiled, “Hello, Anne- did you get a letter today?” Anne nodded, “Yes, why do you ask?” Minerva continued, “Well, Albus and I received one also- but there is a section of it that we cannot read.” Anne was puzzled, “Why not?” Minerva pulled the letter out of her pocket, “Most of Severus’ writings to us are in German as to keep prying eyes out, but part of this one is in a different tongue- we were wondering if you might be able to decipher it.” Anne shrugged, “I can try.” Minerva handed the letter scroll to her and pointed to a section, “Here- the heading above it says ‘Für ein ander Person.’” Anne smiled slightly, “’For another person’. This after it is in Irish Gaelic.” Minerva looked a little lost, “Where would he have ever picked that up?” Anne beamed, “Same place I did- in the Schetzek house. Elenore and Chloë’s mother spoke it fluently and the girls use it around the house just as much as, if not more than, they use English.” Minerva prodded her on, “So, what does he say?” Anne began to read, translating as she went and somehow making the letter read fluidly as though it was written in English,

To my girls-

In my letter I know I said things here were not so good- don’t worry, they are not as awful as they sounded, I did not mean to frighten you. Lise, the worst part of being here is not having you here to confide in as the memories flood back. I miss you, Angel, and Jade terribly and I wish I could come home to you. Every time I get depressed I read that letter and look at the picture of all of us that you and Angel sent with me- I still think that her picture is perhaps the sweetest thing I have ever received- she has us all lined up in a little row and has each one labelled. I think I am the one on the far left, conveniently holding your hand. I think she is hinting at something. I did not at first notice that you did not have your little cross necklace on when we parted, and I doubt that others noticed it, even though you are rarely without it, but I was astounded to find it tucked in the last letter you sent me. I have hung it on my bedpost. It is a wonderful reminder of all that we have shared. Elie and Chloë are the kindest people that I have ever met outside of Hogwarts, always asking about you- they call you Marrion, if I recall, that is your middle name, and still are ever so anxious to see Angel. Remember this- no matter what happens to me, I will be thinking of my Hogwarts girls to the last, whether that happens here or years from now. Much friendship and love to you and tell the girls that all will be well.

~Severus

Wow, that was sweet- oh wait, there is more here, in a different hand,

El says hello- Severus tells us all about you and your little girl and his family as often as we can interrogate him about it. We like him and we will have to all get together some day when there are not lives at stake. I also think he fancies you.

Love Chloë”

Anne laughed, “They are so sweet- I love my in-laws. Where do they get off saying he fancies me? I know that he does, but how do they know? Did he go and tell them?” Minerva was amused, “Oh, admit it Anne, you love him and we can see it- if we can see it in you, they must be able to tell from him.” Anne shook her head, “He is a friend and nothing more.” Minerva was not ready to accept that, “I see you like this, so distressed and worried without him here, and I don’t think that answer suffices. Whatever you may say, watch your actions and your words around him and about him and heaven forbid you forget to listen to your heart; it can tell you so much more than your head can some days.” Anne smiled and shrugged, “Thanks, I guess- can I keep a copy of that?” Minerva smiled and tore the Gaelic section of the letter out and handed it to Anne, “There you are, Anne.” Anne thanked her and as Minerva left she read the letter again to herself. She was later seen flying out over the Forest.

Rehearsals continued as did the gathering of technical pieces for the show. Anne was glad to see that already her cast was beginning to memorize a few of their lines. Tuesday, February seventeenth came and brought a hard day in the Lab. Anne tried her hardest to get through it without falling apart and nearly succeeded. Then the fifth year Slytherins and Gryffindors had class together. Anne did fine until someone in Slytherin house made the comment, “I bet Snape’s just off with some whore, that sly dog.” Anne sunk into a chair and Draco docked points from his own house. Jade picked up where the class had left off and assigned a detention to the student. Jade was going to have him scrub cauldrons at five in the morning the next day, following Severus’ example. Jade turned to Anne when they had started to brew their potions for the day, “There is only one class left today and it is the N.E.W.T class, so I can handle them alone- you go on and have some time to yourself- I know that this is not the way that you want to spend today of all days.” Anne ducked out of the classroom and made her way up to Severus’ thinking spot. Once she got there she sat in the centre of the room and clasping her knees, rocked ever so slightly back and forth, speaking to herself, “Come on girl, why is this all bothering you? You knew that he might not be back until late, so why is it bothering you that he is not here for his birthday?” She reached into her robes and pulled out the little package that had come with Britta’s letter so long ago. She untied it once again and unwrapped the brown paper to reveal what was within- it was a little photograph frame that held a picture of Britta, Rah, and Anne sitting in a corner ice-cream shop before their senior prom with their old friend Lanie and all four of their dates. Anne sighed and rewrapped it, tucking it back in her robes, “I think that it is not that he is not here, but that wherever he is, I am not with him.” She sighed and sang quietly,

A winter's day  
In a deep and dark December;  
I am alone,  
Gazing from my window to the streets below  
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.  
I am a rock,  
I am an island.

I've built walls,  
A fortress deep and mighty,  
That none may penetrate.  
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain.  
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.  
I am a rock,  
I am an island.

Don't talk of love,  
But I've heard the words before;  
It's sleeping in my memory.  
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.  
If I never loved I never would have cried.  
I am a rock,  
I am an island.

I have my books  
And my poetry to protect me;  
I am shielded in my armor,  
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.  
I touch no one and no one touches me.  
I am a rock,  
I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain;  
And an island never cries.”

She broke down to tears until she heard a soft knock on the door, “Not now….” Minerva entered the room and sat down beside Anne, “You are so strong for others, who is strong for you?” Anne wiped her hand across her eyes to dry her tears, “Severus.” Minerva smiled gently, “But he’s not here, Annelise, you have to come to terms with that. I know you try, but there is no use in letting it eat you up inside.” Anne nodded, “I know, Minerva, I know, but this is hard….” Minerva put her arm around Anne’s shoulder, “Child, and that you are, you love him so dearly, even if you do not want to admit to it. I remember the first time my husband left for a long time- he was not risking his life when he did it, but it was a horrible loneliness and worry. I cannot imagine what you are feeling right now.” Anne sighed and tried to hold back everything. Minerva did not let Anne hide, “Anne, tell me what you are feeling right now- everything, and don’t hold back a thing.” Anne spoke through her tears, “I am tired, I am worried, I am alone, I want him back, I want my child well again, it is too silent down there in those dungeons, there is no one to keep me warm in the evenings, I am angry at Voldemort- I blame him for Severus being gone, I want to go back to summer, I am scared to lose him after what he told me before he left, I don’t know what to do and I don’t like that, I need instruction and I feel like I am failing at teaching Potions. I can brew the most deadly potions in existence, but the simple stuff is hard for me because I never learned it. I wish I had never met Severus some days because as the song says, ‘a rock feels no pain and an island never cries’ and if I had never met him, I wouldn’t have to deal with being without him and with not having him here. I miss those few moments when he kissed me, I miss when he would just hold me, I miss his arms around me, and I miss watching him interact with Angel. Minerva, if he dies out there I know I won’t last long.” Minerva held Anne like a mother to a daughter, “Anne, I am sorry that you have to deal with this- you are far too young to have to face all you have seen and to feel the way you do. You are not failing, you are doing all that you can and I think that considering what memories must arise during your work here you are doing well dealing with it all.” She paused and looked kindly at Anne, “What did he tell you before he left?” Anne sighed, “He said he loved me.” Minerva smiled, “That is wonderful- he has wanted to tell you that since the beginning of this year and has asked me for advice so many times that I wondered if he would ever have the courage to say what he felt. I am glad to hear that he did.” Anne sighed, “The only thing is his saying so is what has got me into the emotional mess I am in….”

For the rest of the month, things were fairly quiet. Anne and Jade taught Potions together to the best of their abilities, Jade doing most of the lecturing, Anne planning and then teaching Jade anything extra that she would need for the lessons. Despite Severus’ detailed plan-books on what to teach each day, they still had to figure out what his notes meant and then how in the world he would have carried them out. Anne’s class was easier. Rehearsals were going smoothly, designs were being acted upon, and every student was doing his or her part each day with very little need for Anne to guide them every step of the way. The actors and actresses were working especially hard because Anne wanted them to be off book (working without a script) by the first day of March. Anne was often seen flying above the forest, Severus’ heavy cloak flapping behind her and her hair streaming in the wind. She didn’t speak much, only when she had to or was directly asked. Her students had learned not to speak about Snape when she was around; it was likely to cause her distress. Unfortunately, there were a few who did not have such courtesy.

Sunday, February twenty-ninth, leap year. Anne made her way from the thinking spot down to the dungeons with a stop by the kitchens to grab a bite of lunch. On her way out of the kitchens she heard a group of students snickering about something, “…and have you seen the way she skulks around? It’s just like she is this little whelp who is so dependent on Master that she can’t even go a few months on her own!” “Yeah,” another voice said, “What happened to the former Death Eater crap? You would think that would make her tough.” A third someone laughed, “Hey, didn’t she use to live out in the country without a house or anything? How could she do that and not even be able to stand a few months here without her Snapey?” Anne took a breath; she would not let them get to her. The first voice, definitely a male, spoke again, “Well, you know, they were both in the Dark Arts- I wonder if they were secret lovers?” The second voice, another male, cackled, “Ooh, good one- I wonder what the look on her face would be if she heard me say that I don’t think any woman would ever go near that slimy git with a ten foot pole?” The third voice, a female, was laughing, “Oh, that would be priceless.” It was then that Anne walked around the corner to find a trio of third years in the Potions class. They froze as she walked by, saying nothing, but close to tears. They laughed after they thought she had gone, “Did you see that? She looked like she is going to go and cry now! Boohoo!” A fourth voice joined the discussion, “Yes, I did hear, and I was not pleased in the least….” The students all fell into a hush; Anne knew that voice, it was Jadelyn’s, “So, having a little fun at the expense of those who can do nothing, are we? Tsk, tsk…I would have thought that you would at least have a little respect for the head of your house. Since you do not, I am taking twenty points from Slytherin-” They cut her off in protest, “Come on, it was all in fun-” She returned the favour, “-each. You will also all be reporting to detention at five o’clock tomorrow morning in the Potions Lab to me. You have no respect for those who reign there, let us see if we can’t make you at least appreciate the time they log in that room.” They stood with their mouths gaping as Jade grinned and waved to them, “I’ll see you in the morning, bright and early.” She caught up with Anne who was leaning on the wall biting her knuckle and trying not to cry, “C’mon, Anne, let’s get back downstairs.” Anne shook her head ‘no’ and headed to Minerva’s office, ready to spill the contents of her newest pain to the woman who was fast becoming her mentor.

March flew by in much the same manner as February, with a pause on Angel’s birthday. Angel was sitting in her mum’s class building a bookcase with Draco and Harry when she stopped all that she was doing and looked at both boys with a little grin, “I am now ten years old. After next year, I can really go to school here.” The grin faded and she smacked the nail she had been driving with an intense force for one so young, “I only wish Uncle Severus was here so I could tell him too.” Draco helped Angel pull the now bent nail from the wood, “Don’t you worry, Ang, he’ll be home soon- maybe even by Easter.” Angel looked at him inquisitively, “How do you know?” He shrugged, “One, Father keeps saying that what each section is preparing should be done by the end of the month for inspection- it seems, from what I can gather from his letters, that You-Know-Who has been sending requests from each of his Death Eater sections and there is to be one year of preparation from the final inspection before whatever is going to happen happens. I can’t say what is going on, I don’t know yet, but hopefully whatever Severus is doing, he will be home by the end of this spell.” Angel was suspicious, “Why do you think Uncle Severus has anything to do with Death Eaters these days?” Draco shrugged, “Dad mentions having seen him at the Cambridge house.” Angel’s eyes grew wide, “Uh oh….” Anne, meanwhile, had come up behind them. She crouched down by her workers, “Alright, Harry, Draco, you know too much already. If you let one whisper of what you know he is up to leak out, then you might as well kiss your grades goodbye.” Harry nodded to Anne, “Don’t you worry, we won’t tell a soul.” Draco agreed, “Not one- if we did, Jade would kill us- and you probably would too, but I tend to fear her wrath more than yours, no offence.” Anne smiled, “Good, we are understood then.” She drifted back to her desk. Angel sighed, “I wish she would be happy again…she never used to smile like that- so melancholic.” Both the boys nodded in unison, neither of them had ever seen Anne quite so tired or resigned, even when Angel and Jade had both nearly died- she had always been so optimistic, now she seemed passive to fate and far to accepting of what was without any effort to change it.

The rest of March only brought rumours flying around the school that there was once again a basilisk loose in the plumbing. No one quite knew how the rumour began, but it spread like wildfire and the consolations and assurances of the staff were of no matter to the panicky students.

April Fool’s Day- Anne found a little snake curled in the top drawer of her desk during class. Everyone stopped what they were doing- they weren’t even scheduled to have class, since it was a Thursday, but they had voted to go ahead anyway to keep up on their rehearsing and such. She picked it up and spoke to it. Only Harry and Jade understood what she was saying, “And what are you doing in my desk?” The snake responded, “I was placed here by those two dolts there.” Anne continued, “Do you have a home to return to?” The snake shook its head and Anne asked, “What is your name?” The snake coiled around her wrist, “Liam.” Anne made an offer, “Would you like to live in the dungeons here? There are mice and such around that you could find to eat.” The snake nodded and Anne addressed the class, this time in a language they all could understand, “This is Liam, he was placed here by Crabbe and Goyle, and he will be living in the dungeons after today.” Harry raised his hand, “Yes, Harry?” He cleared his throat, “Have you, er, talked to many snakes?” Anne smiled, “I do not get the opportunity often, but when I was a child, Rah, Brit, and I would go off into the woods and if we managed to catch a snake, I would talk to it and we would find out things about the woods that we would not have known otherwise.” Harry nodded, “So I am not the only parselmouth in the school.” Jade grinned from her desk, “No, you are not, there are at least three of us.” Everyone turned to face her, “Harry, Anne, and I- unless anyone else has a confession to make of this gift, then there are only three.” Anne grinned back as Liam curled up on her shoulder, “Alright, enough talk of such things- get back to work- we open in eighteen days.”

A week later Anne found herself holding a Maundy Thursday Seder dinner in her chamber. The attendance was small, herself, Angel, Jade, Draco (having been dragged along by Jade), and Minerva sat around the table in reverence of the ancient tradition. Draco, who had never been to a religious function in his life, found it fascinating. He kept asking Jade what each thing on the table was for and she kept telling him to wait and see. After the Seder, Draco returned to Slytherin house and wrote down the things he had seen and learned. He tucked his notes under his mattress and fell asleep wondering what happened next- Anne had told everyone to come back tomorrow evening for the Good Friday story- he had no idea what that meant, but since Jade had gotten him all curious, he figured that he might as well see what this was all about.

Good Friday- April ninth. Anne awoke near eleven o’clock that morning to the slamming of a door. She heard noise from the Potions Lab and sprang from her hammock, not bothering to pull on her robe or her slippers. She threw her door open as Severus stepped from the Lab and into the hall, “SEVERUS!” Anne shouted and beamed with joy. He turned to face her, “Annelise, I have no time for pleasantries, the Ministry is expecting me upstairs.” He turned and headed up the stairs. She fought of tears as she called after him, hurt and anger in her voice, “It’s nice to see you too!” She took a breath, “Welcome home.” she spat after him, turned on her heels, and slammed the door to her chambers so hard that not only did Angel wake with a huge start, but Jade next door sat bolt upright in bed. Angel asked what was the matter, “Nothing, Ang, he’s home but he’s too busy to even stop and say hello.” Anne climbed back in her hammock and buried her face in her pillow as she cried.

Standing in the centre of the narrow stone staircase, Severus heard her door slam, “That was the stupidest thing you have ever done, Severus.” he told himself, “Oh well, nothing to be done now- best get on before I’m late.” He continued up the stairs to report on his mission trying to convince himself that since Anne had waited for so long that a few more hours wouldn’t hurt her. Somehow the argument did not seem worthy….

That evening she sat with the same people who had come to the Seder and she told them the story of Maundy Thursday and of Good Friday from the book written by Claudius Matthews III that she read the Christmas Story from every year. Draco left the reading feeling depressed, wondering how anyone could cling to such a sad story. Jade assured him that on Sunday morning the story would come to life again, but he did not see how. Saturday flew by for everyone and on Sunday morning near sunrise Anne gathered her little group and they went to sit in the Great Hall to hear the story and watch the sunrise. Anne told the story of Easter with such vibrancy that Draco was on the edge of his seat. At the end of the story, Anne, Angel, and Jade all sang “Victory in Jesus” at the top of their lungs. Draco could feel their joy surging within him and decided later that he would ask Jade more about this Jesus person, he seemed rather interesting.

Monday morning came and Anne had still not spoken to Severus- there were no classes scheduled, except the open room of Anne’s that Jade was to preside over, allowing students to work on the production. Since Tuesday was the first full rehearsal with the technical aspects of the show in place, the crew had a few touch ups to do before then. Angel sat with Anne around nine in the morning, “Come on, Mum, doll up a bit today- this might be when he finally has the time to talk, so you need to look spiffy- make him feel super bad about not letting you jump into his arms on Friday.” Angel began to brush Anne’s hair, snarly and wet from Anne’s having just showered. Anne sat on the couch in her bathrobe, “Come on, Ang, if he won’t notice me looking like crap because I just woke up, why should he care if I suddenly look decent?” Angel sighed, “Don’t know, but as far as I can tell, it’s worth a shot.” Angel pulled a dress from Anne’s trunk, “Go change and don’t argue.” Anne went and got dressed. She stepped out from behind the screen and Angel beamed, “Hot damn, woman, if he doesn’t notice you now, he is as blind as a bat and not worth the bother.” Anne was wearing a spaghetti strap tank-dress, the bodice snug to her body and the full skirt flaring out with a ruffle down one side to the base of the skirt just below her knees and circling the base of the dress. Anne stood up straight and grabbed her black scarf shawl from her trunk. She draped the triangle of cloth around her shoulders and tied it in the front, the inch long row of black beads that bordered the base of the material rustling against her back. She slipped on her black sandal heels and walked out the door. Angel sighed, Anne was very pretty when she cared, and if Severus didn’t notice her today, well, Angel thought that he would have to be just plain stupid.

Anne wandered outside to the lakeshore and sat on the wide swing that she had rigged up for Angel in March. She sat down in the centre of it and stared at the lake shimmering.

Severus was sick of meetings and was exceptionally relieved when his last one ended at eleven o’clock. He made his way back down to the Potions Lab but, rather than entering his own door, knocked on Anne’s. Angel answered, “Mum’s not here- I think she went outside.” Severus nodded, “Thank you.” After he had once again gone upstairs, Angel knocked on Jade’s door, “Open up- you have to come with me!” Jade opened the door, “What?” Angel had already started for the stairs, “Come on- Severus has gone to find Mum and we have to see what is going to happen!” Jade eagerly followed Angel upstairs to where they found Hagrid. They told him their mission and he led them to a window in a classroom with the perfect view. 

Severus stepped outside and took a deep breath- the air was warm, with a wonderful breeze blowing through. He looked to find Anne- it was not a hard task, her black dress contrasting sharply with the brightness of the day, drifting with the wind on the swing. He made his way over to her, coming up behind her and caught the swing, holding it still, “Lise?” She sighed, not facing him, “Yeah?” He smiled slightly, “It’s good to be home.” “I’ll bet it is.” The smile faded, “Annelise, I am sorry about my less than enthusiastic greeting on Friday.” She shook her head, “Less than enthusiastic?! You verbally pushed me aside, like whatever you were doing couldn’t wait the few seconds it would have taken for you to say ‘hello’ and that it was so much more important to you than us. I just wanted to feel a little RELIEF!” Her breath shuddering, her mask broke and her shoulders slumped, “What’s wrong, Lise?” His face showed true concern as he walked around in front of her. She bitterly spoke, “What’s wrong? Gee, I wonder- I have been teaching two classes, raising a child, keeping Jade in line, I dealt with Angel nearly drowning, Jade becoming suicidal, Jade nearly dying from exposure, Draco trying to evolve and lastly I was wondering the entire time if you were still alive! That is what’s wrong!!” Severus had not been ready to hear all this, “Two classes? And what is this about Jade and Angel, why didn’t you write?” She sighed, “You had enough to worry about.” “What happened?” Anne told him, “Angel fell through the ice and was near frozen by the time Draco could pull her out. She didn’t come to until Christmas Eve. Jade and Draco had a row, she became depressed, he told her she would be better off dead and she eventually took his advice, running into the forest. Draco told me Sunday that he hadn’t seen her since Friday, I think, and we found her Monday. Draco and I talked, he and Jade spoke he decided he did not want to follow his father to Voldemort, Jade fell unconscious and nearly died, we didn’t know if she was going to last the day or night, Draco was devastated and stayed with her all day and night. She awoke the next morning.” Severus was worried, “How are they now- please tell me Angel is going to be fine- Jade is strong, but-” She cut him off, “Jade is fine, yes, she is really quite resistant to illness or injury, but Angel is still feeling the effects of the accident so many months ago- she needs the warm air to stay so she can heal.” He sighed, “Thankfully they are alright.” he paused, “You mentioned you were teaching two classes?” She nodded, “Yeah, mine and Potions.” “Why on earth did you teach my class?” She lowered her head, “There was no one else who could.” “Jade…oh, sorry.” he said with a bit of embarrassment. She shook her head, “No one else could….” He motioned for her to scoot to the left and he sat down beside her saying, “Well, there’s no need for either of you to worry about that any longer.” He laid his arm across her shoulders. She leaned into him and laughed for the first time in ages, her smile returning and losing its sadness, tears of relief streaming down her face as she surrendered to his embrace. 

Meanwhile, Angel, Jade, and Hagrid watched from their window. Hagrid was grinning, “Well, I’d be willin’ t’ say that yer gonna win yer bet, Angel.” Angel was beaming as she watched Severus offer Anne his arm and escorted her to under an old oak tree.

Severus plucked a myrtle flower from a vine gathering at the base of the oak and tucked it in her hair. Their gazes locked and he wrapped his arms around her waist. She draped her arms around his neck as he bend down and kissed her lips. Peace spread across her face as he pulled away and she rested her head on his shoulder, “Lise, thank you for all you’ve done while I was gone.” Anne shrugged and he shook his head, “Don’t you just blow off all you endured, you went through a lot and I am proud of you- there are very few people who are as strong as you are.” She blushed slightly and he walked her back to the castle.

Angel bounded down the stairs with Jade, “You know, that is the first time I have seen them kiss.” Jade laughed, “There is no way they are not going to end up together- they just have to!” As soon as Anne and Severus entered the door, Angel hugged both of them and then scampered off with Jade to the Great Hall for lunch. Anne and Severus took their places at the head table together. The rest of the day was spent wandering the grounds. As evening was approaching they sat on the shore and Anne began to name off the herbs and other plants she found there. He added a few to her list and she surprised him with a few uncommon uses for very common weeds. They then went to dinner and he escorted her back to her chamber, “Goodnight, Lise.” They embraced, “Severus, it’s good to have you home.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and then nodded, “It’s good to be home.” Angel called from within the chamber, “Are you going to stay out there all night?” Anne laughed and, with a little wave, went to her room, leaving Severus outside the closed door, “It’s definitely good to be back- especially to find you waiting for me.”

Severus returned to teaching the next day and Anne was woken by a raised voice from next door, “Miss Gwyn, if I ever catch you and your little friends talking about me in that manner again, you will be expelled! All four of you will serve detentions, separately.” Anne grinned, life was back to normal. Anne held class that day- it was the final week and the actors were trying to run through the show with costumes and props while Anne trained Draco, Harry, and Zack how to set up and then operate her lighting and sound systems. For the first full run through, it went pretty well- they only had to stop and re-run lines two times and everyone pretty well remembered their lines. These rehearsals lasted all week.   
On Friday, Anne stopped into the Lab before classes, “Severus- can I ask you a major favour?” He smiled, “What do you need?” She sat on the edge of a student desk, “My students are going to be in the theatre literally all weekend, so if there is any way that you could be merciful with homework, I would be really grateful- and they will too.” He nodded, “I already thought of that- just go and relax.” She grinned, “Thanks, hon.”

Saturday brought the first dress rehearsal with makeup and no stopping of the show, no matter what happened. Anne thought it went well, though her cast was less enthusiastic. Sunday went very well and Anne praised her cast and crew highly, “That was our last rehearsal, we open tomorrow at four o’clock with the house open at three thirty. Actors need to be here at one thirty and cast needs to be here at twelve thirty. All your professors are aware of your schedule and will be providing for your circumstances. If anyone gives you a problem when you are leaving to meet here in the Great Hall, let me know and I will speak to them personally. I am very proud of you, our set is marvellous, our costumes perfectly period, our makeup looking fabulous, our props have not yet gone missing, our lighting and sound is timed wonderfully- you are, to me, one of the most professional theatre companies that I have ever worked with. Everyone is to be ready at three thirty tomorrow to go, even though that is early. Go get some rest and I will see you all tomorrow.”

Monday, April nineteenth, Opening of Trifles to the staff and students of Hogwarts. Anne made sure that the makeup tables and changing rooms were assembled in the passage behind the Great Hall and everything was where it should be for each crew to get to work. Her crews arrived after lunch and began to check in all their components. The running crew put the set together and then props and costumes crews preset all their pieces and made sure that each actor’s things were collected. The actors arrived and got dressed and the props and costumes crews fussed to get everything just right. The electrical crew set up and tested their systems. Nervously, everyone waited backstage at three thirty, ready to go. Anne and the Electrical crew joined them, “Alright everyone, make a circle and take hands. We are opening our first weeklong run ever here at the Hogwarts Theatre. I am going to do a little calming exercise that my director used to do in High School. I am going to squeeze the hand on my right and then they are going to pass the squeeze on to the person on their right, repeating this all around the circle until I get the squeeze back.” They did the exercise and Anne spoke again, “Good luck tonight, guys- I will be sitting in the lighting deck if you need to contact me- I have given Jade a radio and then Harry and Draco each have one also- Zack will be sitting in the sound deck. They are for essential communications only, which means that hopefully they will not be used at all tonight. Everybody, let’s get some energy here- hunker down and stomp those feet.” They did, and with a battle cry, everyone charged into the centre of the circle, laughing. Anne beamed, “Now get out there and show this crowd what we can do, eh?”

The lights dimmed and the crowd grew silent as they got their first fully lit view of the interior of a recently abandoned farmhouse, the gloomy kitchen having been left without being put to rights, the dishes in the sink, a loaf of bread sitting out, and other such scatterings. The men entered the room first from the stairs on the side of the stage, followed by the ladies. Both women appeared worried and stayed near the edge of the light that defined the room. The men lit the stove and the first lines of dialogue were spoken.

County Attorney: This feels good. Come up to the fire ladies.

Mrs. Peters: I’m not- cold.

The first ever long running show at Hogwarts had begun.

At the end of the show, the students and staff all called for thunderous applause and the cast bowed. They brought the crew on stage and the audience applauded their appreciation. The cast and crew then split in two, one half pointing to the sound deck, one to lighting. Sounds played a thunder effect, Lights flashed colours, and the audience clapped for them too. After a final bow, the stage went black until everyone had quitted it and then the house lights rose. Each crew went to tearing down their things and after their business was done, Anne released them to meet their public. The house elves scrambled to make the Great Hall ready for dinner, but found that all the tables and chairs had already been properly replaced by the cast and crew and their job was definitively simpler. Severus met Anne at the door to her chamber, “Do you have plans after dinner tonight?” She unlocked her door to find it dark, Angel had remembered to put out the torches before leaving, “No, why do you ask?” He shrugged, “No reason, really, I was just wondering- I might stop in and see what you are up to.” She nodded, “I’ll be home, no worry there.” He nearly smiled, “Good. The play went wonderfully tonight. Did you design the costumes and the sets?” Anne shook her head, “No- the students did that, all that I did was approve plans and teach them how to use the materials and tools they would need to create the elements of the show- they did all the creating on their own.” He was impressed, “They did well.” She grinned, “Yeah, I am bloody proud of them. This took a lot of time and they brought the show up to professional quality- and they made up the best theatre company that I have ever worked with. They were fabulous- I only hope they keep the energy for tomorrow when the Ministry is going to be here.” Severus grumbled, “Oh goody, another encounter with everyone’s favourite administrator- Cornelius Fudge.” Anne shook her head, “I know he isn’t anybody’s favourite person to deal with, but a good review from him is what will pull in our public when we bump our start time to eight oh one on Wednesday and let anyone in. If he likes it, he will tell folks, and if he tells folks, they will get curious and hopefully come- that is how theatre goes and then how a small theatre grows into a big event.” He did not answer for a moment, and then said, “Well, good luck then, Miss Lise.”

After dinner, Severus did stop in to see Anne and Angel and the three of them sat on the couch and talked about the play for a short while before Anne announced that Angel was to get off to bed. As soon as Angel was in bed, Severus asked Anne to step next door with him, so she did and he handed her a single, long stemmed rose, “Congratulations on your opening night, Lise. Your first long running directing job is a success.” Anne sniffed the rose and sighed with happiness, “Thank you, Severus. This is beautiful.” She set it on the table, gave him a hug of thanks, and then, after retrieving her rose, walked to the door, “I have to go turn in- we have a big show tomorrow. If you want to come to the show again tomorrow, you can sit in front of the lighting deck so I can give hell to anyone who tries to start trouble with you.” He smiled, “Thank you, Lise; I may have to take you up on that offer.”

Nervously, the cast and crew gathered backstage for Anne’s pep talk before their Ministry show- everyone who was anyone in the Ministry of Magic, and a few who weren’t much were seated in the audience, including the Board of Governors that Lucius Malfoy sat upon. Everyone backstage was a little intimidated, “Alright company- we survived last night, the performance for those you have to see everyday and for those who hold your grades in their hands. We got a good review from everyone I talked to, including Professor Snape- he told me that it went wonderfully and that you all did well- he was rightly impressed when I told him that you designed everything yourselves. If you can get a good review from him, then the only tougher judge is going to be Lucius Malfoy tonight. Think of it, you got a gold star last night from a guy who can hardly give a good mark on a paper- if you can do that, you are brilliant, as I have been telling you all along. Now, after our energy circle and our mob to the centre, I want you all to focus, keep calm, and when go time comes, turn up the energy and blow the Ministry to the back wall.”

Once again the show opened and a hush fell over the Great Hall as the audience got its first view of a recently abandon farmhouse kitchen.

At the end of the show the applause was just as loud as before. Anne watched as Lucius Malfoy reluctantly clapped along with the crowd to keep up appearances.

The next three days saw the Great Hall packed with the public, the Daily Prophet packed with rave reviews of the show. According the Fudge, it was the best free theatre that he had ever seen. At the end of the week, the cast and crew put away their things for the last time and struck the set, stashing everything back in Anne’s classroom so they could take care of it later. The crashed into bed late that night after being met by a very enthusiastic public. Anne returned to her room happy to find a second rose in the vase with her first one and a little note on the table,

Lise-

I attended the show every night and each time found another little detail that I had missed the night before. Your run was wonderful and I hope that you will consider producing another show next year.

~Severus

Anne smiled and crawled into bed, needing to rest before the company party Jade was hosting after lunch and as late as it happened to go on Saturday and possibly very early Sunday morning.

After the party, Anne fell into her hammock bed near three o’clock in the morning. She and Angel would both be sleeping late on Sunday, that was for sure. 

Monday Anne’s class took care of all the stuff they had borrowed for the production and took all the things they had made or built to Anne’s music room. They rearranged the room so half of it was for musical instruments and the other half was storage. Anne had all of her students meet back in her classroom after their work was done, “Today was the last time that you need to come to my class. I am very proud of you and a little note that I received not only confirms that the run went wonderfully, but also encourages us to do this again next year. I shall be seeing you all around and good luck in the rest of your classes.”

Anne took pleasure in doing absolutely nothing over the next few days. Her peace was shattered on Thursday, April twenty-ninth when Fudge visited the dungeons after regular class hours. He knocked on Severus’ door and Severus answered none too pleasantly. Fudge stepped in, “May I come in?” Severus grumbled and reluctantly let Fudge come far enough into the Lab so he could shut the door behind him, “Now what are you doing in my laboratory and why are you acting as though I am a traitor? The only other time you have behaved quite like this, what with your mannerisms and all, was when I was on trial for the Dark Arts.” Fudge shook his head, “Where were you last night?“ Severus crossed his arms around his chest, “I was here and there are those who can defend that claim.“ Fudge sighed, “Don’t get me wrong, Severus, I am not blaming you at this point, but Karkaroff has been assaulted outside of Durmstrang and the only name that he could manage to spit out was ‘Snape’. Severus, I am forced into having you detained for this assault.” Severus glared at him, “Get out.” Fudge tried to stand his ground, “Severus, be reasonable- the attack could have been done by an impostor.” Severus brushed past Fudge and yanked open the door, “Leave. You are not welcome here.” Fudge stepped out, “Severus, I am warning you, this behaviour could cause you trouble!” Severus began to close the door when Fudge let slip a snide comment, “Really, one would think you were still working for You-Know-Who, acting like this.” Severus slammed open his door, rattling some of the jars in the back of the room, “Cornelius Fudge, do not make that accusation of me!” he thundered. Anne pulled her door open with a jerk and stepped into the hall, “Fudge, get out of here if you can’t play nicely.” Fudge glared at her, “And I suppose you are going to back up his story about his whereabouts last night?” Anne’s hands found themselves on her hips in a defensive pose, “What are you saying? Are you accusing Severus of being out meandering last night?” Fudge turned to her, “Karkaroff was attacked last night and the only thing that he managed to say was ‘Snape’- a bit incriminating, isn’t it?” Anne shook her head, “There is no way that he could have done it.” Fudge raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean by that?” Anne shrugged, “He had tea with Angel, Jade, Draco, Minerva, and I last night after dinner and we all had a lovely time talking about what we will be teaching next year and where we hope to be in life. It was nice to just sit and talk, lounging about without a care in the world. Talk to Minerva, Jade, Draco, or even Angel, they will verify what we are both saying.” Fudge shook his head, “Alright, whatever you say. The Ministry cannot build truth on the defence of those who both lived lies.” Anne went a little pale, “You won’t listen. Bastard.” Severus watched her return to her room and he closed his door to go check on her. He found her sitting on her couch alone in the room, staring off into space, “Lise, don’t worry about him, Minerva will help.” Anne nodded as Severus brought his arm around her waist and she leaned her head on his shoulder, “Yeah, Minerva will help.”

Saturday, May first: Beltane. Anne was sitting in her room sewing a new dress- it was the bodice and the skirt (with the front and back removed) of the dress that had been ruined in Belfast and then a black panel added in front to add back which made the dress flair out. Anne also had defined the waist of the dress with a thin black velvet cord stitched into place, making a ‘v’ shape at the front and a slight downward curve on the back. Anne had also added a sort of cape around the shoulders that fell down to her elbows and was sewn along the straps to define the front and draped across the back in a natural curve at the neck. As she was stitching up the hem of the black panels even with the blue sides, Angel slid into a chair beside her, “So…?” Anne knew what was coming and tried to ignore it, “Sew a dress.” Angel rolled her eyes, “No Mum, you know what day it is.” Anne nodded, “Sure do- Beltane, and we are going to have a bonfire tonight and tell stories of days of old and all such things.” Angel sighed, “No, a year from today we-” “-made a bet, I remember.” Angel held out her hand, “Pay up.” Anne shook her head, “How are you so confident that you won?” Angel looked at Anne like she was crazy, “I saw you and Severus on Holy Monday on the swing and under the tree.” Anne set her sewing down for a moment, “What do you think that proves? So what if he kissed me- that doesn’t mean that I am in love with him.” Angel continued, “He also gave you that necklace, you brightened up when he came home, the way he treated you in he and Nigel’s room in Belfast, all the times you and he have just wandered all by yourselves out on the grounds, I know that you have held hands under the Head Table, and Jade swears that you have all the classic symptoms of a girl in love.” Anne shook her head and resumed her sewing, “And I suppose Jade is some sort of authority in that area?” Angel shrugged, “She definitely loves Draco- I should know, I saw them kiss.” Anne was surprised, “Oh, and when did this happen?” Angel grinned, “Valentines Day, outside of Slytherin house, way after hours. I was their lookout. It was so beautiful….” Anne hmpf’ed, “Dream on Angel, you’re a romantic and a dreamer.” Angel grinned, “Whatever, just pay up.” Anne kept on sewing, “If you give me another month, then I can tell you what is going on.” Angel shook her head, “Yeah, and then school gets out. The deal was for a year from Beltane.” Anne stopped sewing again and tucked her needle in the fabric, “It was a year from Beltane, but I am still your mother. The bet gets extended or it gets forgotten.” Angel sighed, “Fine, I guess I can swing that- what’s the new date?” “When I get back to Nigel’s place after you and Jade leave the school.” Anne said. Angel nodded, “Then you’ll know?” It was Anne’s turn to sigh, “If ever, yes.”

Severus was obviously disturbed the following day about the Karkaroff situation. He wanted to fight the accusation tooth and nail and was a bit frustrated with Albus’ saying that they were going to wait it out. Anne stopped into his room, “Come on Severus, just lighten up a little- at least Fudge didn’t take you away.” He snapped back, “If you were I, would you just sit here?” Anne nodded, “I would trust that what Albus says is wise and thought out.” “YOU WOULD NOT!” he yelled. Anne was taken aback, he had never yelled like that at her, “Severus, try to be reasonable-” “I AM BEING REASONABLE!” She moved towards him and placed her hand on his arm. He wrenched away from her, “Don’t touch me.” Her face was crossed with worry, “Please, Severus-” He turned to her sharply and gave her a small shove to back her off. Anne stumbled back, falling onto one of the student desks. He froze, looked down at his hands, and then at Anne. He then turned and left the room, locking himself in his office. Anne sat up slowly and shook her head, exiting the room and shutting herself in her room. That afternoon, Jade found out from Anne what had happened and on Monday, after Severus’ classes, she tried to talk some sense into him, but it ended up in a huge screaming match and Jade stormed out of the Lab, slamming the door behind her. She told Anne, “He’s impossible!” and went back to her own chamber. Anne sighed, tomorrow was another day and she would try to talk things over with him.

Anne entered the Lab after regular classes and knocked on his office door, “Severus, we need to talk.” The door wrenched open and Severus stood on the other side with a less than pleased look on his face. He stepped out of the office and shut the door. Anne leaned on the corner of the doorframe, “Come on, let’s not argue over this. We both know that staying angry will get us nowhere.” He leaned on the wall so that he was bent over her, trapping her against the wall, “Annelise, I do not wish to discuss this.” She shook her head, “Severus, at least can’t we agree to disagree? You want to fight, I am sick of fighting, I did it all winter- why not just let this pass? I mean, really, what can the Ministry do without evidence? They haven’t tried to pull anything yet, so why can’t we just let this be until they do? You know that the instant they try anything other than to bully you with words that I will be beside you the whole way.” He glared at her, “Annelise, what did I just say?! I DO NOT WISH TO TALK ABOUT THIS!” Anne had shrunk down as he had shouted, not with fear, but out of instinct. He was breathing a bit heavily, having just finished yelling. Anne met his gaze, hurt in her eyes, but forgiveness in her heart. No words were spoken as she gently reached up and stroked his cheek. His face pinched with sorrow as he began to turn away from her. She caught him as he stepped away from her and she came close to him, bringing him to her embrace. She whispered to him as he actually began to cry, “Hush, dear, don’t you fret about this, we’re going to be alright.” She had never imagined that he would ever shed a tear, but she was rather glad to see that he did, after all, it is not the strong man who bottles everything inside and does not weep, rather the strong man knows when to show his pains to others and has the courage to weep when he feels he must.

Three hours later Anne and Severus both left the dungeons and made their way to Albus’ office. Severus stood in front of the hidden staircase and spoke the password, “Eggs and Ham…where he thinks up these passwords I’ll never know.” Anne grinned and took his hand, “I would not guess it, Sam I am, I would not guess it in a box, I would not guess it with a fox, I would not guess it here or there, I would not guess it anywhere!” He raised an eyebrow, “Lise, I think you are a bit old for Dr. Seuss, are you not?” They began to ascend the staircase, she following him, “Of course not, you are never too old for a good, silly story- it keeps you young at heart.” They reached the top of the stairs and he shot her a grin, “Then, Lise, you must be an absolute infant at heart.” She returned the look, “Yes, but the younger one is, the more life one has yet to live.” They stepped up to their amused Headmaster’s desk, “Ah yes, Annelise and Severus- I have been expecting you. Have a seat.” Two armchairs appeared where Albus pointed his wand and Anne flopped down most unceremoniously in the one nearest her. Severus shook his head at her as he sat down quietly. Albus leaned forward and looked from Severus, leaning back but still sitting tall, to Anne, who was sitting sideways in her chair, her legs draped over the edge and her feet propped up on Severus’ armrest, “We have a little situation we have to discuss, don’t we? We have to figure out how to prove to the Ministry with the testimony of three staff members, a student and a little girl we can keep Severus out of suspicion, especially when they won’t allow two of the testimonies to be heard because of history, one witness having a former employer in common with Severus and the other being family. They probably won’t let Angel testify because of her age and her ties to both of you and that leaves Draco and Minerva. As much as we all hate to admit it, I think that Draco’s testimony will be the one that settles this case, what with his father’s position and all.” Anne sighed, “Kind of trapped, aren’t we?” Severus nodded his agreement as Albus smiled, “Not if we play our cards right, we aren’t, not if we play wisely.”

On the fifth Anne found a note tacked to her door after dinner, 

Lise-

Meet me at our thinking spot when you get the chance.

~S.

She folded the note, tucked it into her skirt pocket, let Angel know where she was heading, and made her way up the stairs and around to the tower. She entered to find Severus kneeling in front of the window, his face lit by the moon, one arm leaning on the sill. She smiled and closed the door behind her, “What do you need, Severus?” He turned to face her as she knelt down beside him, “I want to apologize for the last few days- I have been not only unfair to you, but I have been outright harmful and wicked.” She leaned on the windowsill and faced him, “Severus, you were vexed, I caught you at bad times and I did not know when to stop my inquisition, I-” He placed his fingers on her lips, “Hush, Lise, there is no excuse for me yelling at you when all you were trying to do was help, there is no excuse for me bearing down on you like I did yesterday at the doorframe, and there is no excuse for me shoving you- that was entirely uncalled for and abusive and should have never come to pass.” Anne smiled, “Don’t worry; I forgave you for all of that shortly after it happened- you are under a lot of pressure that I don’t fully understand. Just try not to lose your temper like that again and things will be fine.” He smiled, “How is it that you are so forgiving of someone like me?” Anne shrugged, “Because you are someone like me.”

Not much happened for the remainder of May- Anne revelled in her free time, sewing like mad on her old, half finished projects tucked within her trunks. She visited the store room that Albus had granted her when Nigel had brought some of her things back and she repaired damaged items. She painted another banner, this one of the lake glistening with the school overlooking it. She spent time with Angel, Jade, Draco, and Minerva, popping into Transfiguration every once in a while to see how things were going. She spent at least one class a day in the Potions Lab helping Severus with some task or another.

On May thirty-first Severus was in one of his moods during classes, making snide comments about less than perfect work, muttering, and then thundering his disappointments. Anne sighed as she helped Neville and Seamus, somehow lab partners, clean up another mess that had nearly eaten through Malfoy’s pant-leg. Something must have set Severus off this morning, but what? She turned to Seamus, “Don’t touch that- you saw what it did to Draco’s pants.” Neville was holding back tears and did not look like he would succeed long, “Hon, don’t you worry about Severus- something is going on with him that I don’t know about or I would have warned you. Now get back to work and I can help you get this thing done in the last ten minutes of class, since the mess is taken care of.” Anne sat between them, “To make a simple truth serum, you have to be very precise- go get the ingredience that are on the board and we can then make sure we have proper measures and all, don’t dally or we won’t have time- we only have ten minutes and this thing has to simmer for three of them, so get yourselves in gear.” Six minutes later they had the perfect concoction simmering in front of them, “See there- that wasn’t terribly hard, you just needed a little more patience. Now, when I tell you to, you will need to take it off the heat and set it away…ready? Go!” They did as they were instructed and shortly after they ladled their potion into a flask and handed it in. They thanked Anne profusely and then both became curious; Neville spoke first, “In the Dark Arts, did you use this serum much?” Anne chuckled, “No, we used things much worse than this, but it was one of the things we first made in training. I was a expert in all potions that we used, and the others hailed me as a concocting wiz- apparently they thought that given time I could make anything, but truth serums were one of my specialities.” The boys nodded and thanked her again. Anne walked up to Severus’ desk and leaned on the edge. All the students had quitted the room and Severus was carrying the flasks back to his office. Anne helped. After the last batch, Anne closed his office door so the incoming class would not hear there conversation, “Severus, what is going on- I know that something has happened, you haven’t been this cross with a class in ages. What is bothering you?” He pulled open the top desk drawer and drew out a letter, “I knew you would ask me this. Here, read.” Anne unfolded the paper he handed her as he sat down at his desk, 

Snape-

This is your final warning: He is coming and if he cannot find you, he will take someone you care about. You know of whom I speak, you know who hunts you. Do not hide from him, resistance is futile, you will be found and dealt with to the extremity of his torments. Remember, if he cannot find you, he will find those you care about and destroy them until you are forced to comply.

There was no signature on the note, the handwriting changing every few minutes as not to be traced to any specific hand, “I have a class to teach now, and if you will wait in here, then we can talk more after I am done instructing the third years.” Anne nodded, “As you wish.” He left the room and Anne sat down at his desk, re-reading the note. She was only frightened by one section of it, “…if he cannot find you, he will find those you care about and destroy them until you are forced to comply.” Anne shuddered, if he tried to harm Angel, Anne swore that she would beat the attacker to a pulp- no one threatened her little girl and got away with it, not even the ‘he’ in the letter, presumably Voldemort.

After Severus was done with the third years he returned to the office, “They are a particularly nasty lot, especially that batch- Slytherins who don’t know how to respect anyone, even their house head.” Anne smiled, “I know, I was a target to them back in February- thankfully Jade was nearby and took a good sixty points from Slytherin and slapped them with early morning detentions- she seems to be liking giving out those things as much as you do.” He hmpf’ed, “I can almost guess what they were telling you back in February.” Anne tilted her head to the side, “Why, are they being malicious little beasts?” He nodded, “They think that we are dependent on each other to survive- according to them, you cling to my knees and kiss my feet while I worship the ground you walk on. They also seem to think that we have been having indecent relations both in this office and elsewhere in the building. There are some fairly awful rumours floating about thanks to three ringleaders of the class- two boys and a girl.” Anne was a bit stunned, “You would think that they would be intelligent to at least spy out the territory before they made accusations- you know, watch us through a keyhole or something to see if they could figure out how much they had to make up.” Severus shrugged, “Since the keyholes to the doors to this room are charmed, that would do little good.” Anne chuckled, “Well, we’ll get through it all, we always do.” He sat on the arm of the chair she was sitting in and leaned on the back of it so he could stare at the letter with her. She shook her head, “I don’t care if ‘he’ comes for me, I would rather like to beat the shit out of ‘him’ to prove that you don’t mess with my Hogwarts family and get away with it, and I think that you are strong, but if ‘he’ gets within ten yards of Angel I will skin ‘him’.” Severus sighed, “Yes, but if ‘he’ is Voldemort, then I think we have a bit of a problem on our hands.” Anne agreed, “Yes, and I will fear a bit more for you if it is. In reading this letter again, I think the author is a Star Trek fan- a Muggle television series and movie set.” He nodded, “I know what it is- why do you say that?” She grinned, “Resistance is futile…all the author needs to add is ‘prepare to be assimilated’. All we need to do to find the author is to hold a Star Trek convention for wizards and see who comes dressed as Borg- who else but a Death Eater would chose to dress as the intergalactic conquerors with a flare for murder? We could catch our culprit in a minute.” Severus let out a little hmpf of amusement, “You never cease to find little ways to make what could be the most severe of moments a little lighter.”

Unfortunately, the rumours eventually found Jade’s ear after dinner on June first, thanks to Pansy. Jade, after having kept her temper for some time, could not stand hearing Pansy’s slander any longer and turned on her, “CAN YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH, OR DO I HAVE TO DO IT FOR YOU?!” Pansy retorted, “I wouldn’t be talking so proudly if I were you, people are saying that you and Draco sleep together occasionally down there in the dungeons- I’ve even heard that both of the dungeon dwelling couples -” Jade cut her off, “If you finish that statement I will hit you so hard you won’t be able to figure out which way is up.” Pansy was furious, “You can’t hit me! I’m a student; I can say whatever I want!” Jade glared at her as she continued, “I’ve also heard that late at night, Anne and Severus lock themselves in his office and-” Jade let fly a perfect right hook, “I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!” Pansy stumbled sideways in shock as Jade stormed out of the room, back down to the dungeons. She ran into Draco on the way, “Hey Jade! Jade? Jade, what’s wrong?” She glared at him, “Go ask your housemates- apparently they know some things about us that we don’t.” His shoulders drooped, “They were spreading the rumours?” Jade nodded and rubbed her knuckles. Draco noticed, “Let me see your hand- are you alright?” She nodded, “I’m fine.” He sighed, “You were fighting, weren’t you?” Jade shrugged, “No- fighting requires the other person to actually make an effort to either attack or defend. I just shut Pansy’s mouth for her.” Draco shook his head, “Jade, hon, we have got to work on your temper.” They began walking down to the dungeons together, “No, Draco, it isn’t my temper that is the problem, I listened through a lot of crap before I hit her, but this is the honour of not only you and me, but this is Anne and Severus’ honour too- the honour of my family is at stake here, what could I do?” Draco took her hand- the one that was not reddening and starting to throb, “Let’s go sit down and have tea or something, we can talk this over.” Jade stopped, “No, Draco, I think I need some time alone.” He gave her a quick hug, “O.K., but I am still going to walk you down there and then stay the rest of the day with Anne and the gang.” Jade almost smiled, “Alright.” They parted outside her door and he went to Anne’s chamber to find Angel sprawled across the table, “Mum is out with Uncle Severus.” Draco flopped on the couch, “Mind if I stay here for a while?” Angel shook her head, “No problem.” He sighed, “Thanks.” and lay down on the couch, trying to figure out how to fix the mess they were all in with these nasty rumours.

The next day Anne found a note pinned to her door on the way back from the shower, 

Anne-

I will be taking leave of the castle for the next few days, perhaps even a week to try to find and follow my father who is unfortunately in the area. Let Draco know that I am fine and tell him what I am doing. I needed to get away because of these dolts who like rumour-mongering. Albus was going to ask Severus, but I told him no, you had already suffered enough from his absence this year, it was my turn. I am an excellent tracker and dueller, I will be fine. Assure Angel and Draco, tell Severus to hang in there, and I’ll be back soon.

~J.

Thursday, June third, Anne’s Dark Mark began to burn- Voldemort was calling to his followers.

Friday, June fourth, Anne entered Severus’ office after dinner to find out why he had not come to the Great Hall to discover him sitting behind his desk, his face contorted with pain, clutching his left arm. Anne had him take off his robes and his shirt, knowing that he wore a short-sleeve undershirt beneath. She saw, to her horror, that his Dark Mark had literally burned away his skin and was oozing blood. She quickly mixed up a cooling potion and applied it to his arm before bandaging him up. Her own Mark hurt considerably, but it was not damaging her body. She sat on the right arm of his chair and leaned on the back of it, “He must want you back bad, Severus.” Severus shook his head, “No, he wants to drive me into the open- it is part of his hunting me.” She nodded, “Yeah, I know.” He laid his hand on Anne’s knee, “Don’t worry, Lisie, he’s not going to find us, not yet- when he does, we’ll be ready.”

On Saturday, Anne, Severus, Draco, and Angel all met to discuss their defences, “Severus and I have been thinking that none of us should go anywhere alone- even a trip to a bathroom should be taken with someone for the sake of caution. We have not heard from Jade, but she told me in the letter that it might take a week. The best defence we have right now is caution, let us exercise it wisely.”

That night, Anne had nightmares about Voldemort killing her family, strangling Nigel, torturing Angel, and then brutally beating Severus to death in front of her. She woke up many times that night, unable to get the images out of her mind. Little did she know that Severus was having a similar dream. 

The same dreams revisited her Sunday night. She found herself pacing her room when a light rapping came at the door- it was two o’clock Monday morning, “Lise, are you awake?” She opened the door and let him in, “Yeah, nightmares.” He nodded, “Same here.” They sat down on the couch and she curled up next to him. They talked about their nightmares until Anne blearily drifted off to sleep around an hour later and Severus soon followed.

Angel was delighted to wake up and find them asleep on the couch; she shook Severus, “Wake up so you can get ready for classes.” He sat up, careful not to wake Anne, and thanked Angel, quitting the room for his chamber in Slytherin house. Later that day, after all his classes were over and Angel was off with Draco, he went to find Anne. He found her in the storage and music room on her knees by the windows behind all the junk piled around that had come both from the set and from the Schetzek home in Cambridge. She was singing with her hands in the air, reaching heavenward,

“Suddenly I feel You holding me   
Suddenly I feel You holding me   
Suddenly I feel You holding me   
Suddenly I feel You holding me 

Sweep me away  
Sweep me away  
Sweep me away  
Sweep me away

Suddenly I feel Your hand in mine  
Suddenly I feel Your hand in mine  
Suddenly I feel Your hand in mine  
Suddenly I feel Your hand in mine

Sweep me away  
Sweep me away  
Sweep me away  
Sweep me away

Suddenly I feel Your leading me  
Suddenly I feel Your leading me  
Suddenly I feel Your leading me  
Suddenly I feel Your leading me

Sweep me away  
Sweep me away  
Sweep me away  
Sweep me away

Suddenly I feel Your heart in mine  
Suddenly I feel Your heart in mine  
Suddenly I feel Your heart in mine  
Suddenly I feel Your heart in mine

Sweep me away  
Sweep me away  
Sweep me away  
Sweep me away”

He had never seen her worshiping alone before- he had heard her through the walls numerous times with others, but he had never even watched that. He was intrigued; she knelt there on the floor, her hands in the air, and a look of sublime beauty on her face. He heard her whispering prayers in Irish Gaelic, old prayers, by the sounds of them. She bent over and crossed her arms leaning on the floor, letting her head rest on them as she prayed, oblivious to the material world around her. He heard her say ‘amen’ and she drew herself up and sang again,

“Your love is deep  
Your love is high  
Your love is long  
Your love is wide

Your love is deep  
Your love is high  
Your love is long  
Your love is wide

Your love is deep  
Your love is high  
Your love is long  
Your love is wide

Your love is deep  
Your love is high  
Your love is long  
Your love is wide

Your love is deeper than   
My view of grace  
Higher than this worldly place  
Longer than this road I travel  
Wider than the gap You fill

Deeper than   
My view of grace  
Higher than this worldly place  
Longer than this road I travel  
Wider than the gap You fill

Your love is deep  
Your love is high  
Your love is long  
Your love is wide

Your love is deep  
Your love is high  
Your love is long  
Your love is wide

Your love is deeper than   
My view of grace  
Higher than this worldly place  
Longer than this road I travel  
Wider than the gap You fill

Deeper than   
My view of grace  
Higher than this worldly place  
Longer than this road I travel  
Wider than the gap You fill

And who shall separate us  
Who shall separate us from Your love  
Nothing can separate us  
Nothing can separate us from Your love

Your love is deep  
Your love is high  
Your love is long  
Your love is wide

Your love is deep  
Your love is high  
Your love is long  
Your love is wide

Your love is deeper than   
My view of grace  
Higher than this worldly place  
Longer than this road I travel  
Wider than the gap You fill

Deeper than   
My view of grace  
Higher than this worldly place  
Longer than this road I travel  
Wider than the gap You fill

Your love is deeper than   
My view of grace  
Higher than this worldly place  
Longer than this road I travel  
Wider than the gap You fill

Deeper than   
My view of grace  
Higher than this worldly place  
Longer than this road I travel  
Wider than the gap You fill

Your love is deep  
Your love is high  
Your love is long  
Your love is wide

Your love is deep  
Your love is high  
Your love is long  
Your love is wide

Your love is deep  
Your love is high  
Your love is long  
Your love is wide

Your love is deep”

He slowly walked to beside her and knelt down, not wanting to disturb her, but not wanting to observe from a distance either. She opened her eyes, having shut them while singing from her heart, and brought her arms around him, “Hey.” He smiled at her with a tenderness that he rarely showed during the school year, “Hey.” They embraced for a long time before Anne did something that she would have never thought she would have done: she prayed over him. She asked for guidance, strength, mercy, and forgiveness for him, never explaining or justifying her asking of God to do such things. Severus clutched her to him all the while, realizing what an amazing thing it was to be prayed over by the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. After she closed the prayer with the Lord’s Prayer no words were spoken. He wanted to thank her, but what hung in the air was a feeling so powerful that words could never convey the gratitude he had for Anne’s simple act of mercy and love.

Tuesday, June eighth, unfortunately, did not turn out quite so wonderfully. Angel ran down the stars to the dungeons after regular class hours, laughing and shrieking with mirth, Anne calling after her, “Slow down on the steps- careful! Quiet, love!” As Anne, hiking up her skirts to run down the stairs, passed the Potions Lab, the door to Severus’ office flew open and he, quite angry, descended on Anne. She dropped her skirts and backed away, “Miss Schetzek, do you mind? I am trying to WORK!” She found herself against the wall, shielded from the view of anyone at the stairs’ foot by a three foot indentation in the wall running ten feet along it, “Severus, I-” “I DO NOT WANT EXCUSES! IF YOU CANNOT CONTROL YOUR CHILD, DO NOT TAKE HER OUT! ALL I AM TRYING TO DO IS GET A LITTLE WORK DONE AND I DO NOT FORESEE THAT HAPPENING!” Anne was confused, “You never complained about my parenting before-” Once again she was cut off; he grabbed her by the shoulders and roughly pinned her to the wall, “WHAT I DID NOT SAY IS IRRELEVANT!” Anne spoke in a soft voice, trying to calm him, “Severus, what is going on with you? You have never minded a little joy from Angel before.” He repeated himself, but without the conviction of before, his resolve cracking, “What I…did not say is…irrelevant.” She watched as his face started to change from anger to shame and guilt, “Severus, let go- you’re hurting me.” He released her slowly, as though he did not believe that the hands that had just harmed Anne were his own. He raised his hands in front of his eyes and stared at them, glancing over to Anne and then back to his hands. He whispered, “What have I done?” and turned his back to her. She moved to comfort him, but before she could do so, he shook his head and returned to his office as quickly as he had come. Anne’s thoughts were reeling; she did not know what had just happened. She saw motion out of the corner of her eye and snapped back to reality, abruptly shifting her focus to where she had seen the movement. There stood Jade in the door of her chamber, Draco behind her looking bewildered, and Angel backed into her protective arms. They all watched Anne, then Angel started for the door to Severus’ office, “No, Angel, you stay here- I am going to see to this.” Jade was concerned, “Anne, what if he loses himself again? What if he really hurts you?” Anne shook her head, “He won’t.” Draco’s face was crossed with worry, “How can you be sure?” She shrugged, “I can’t be- but there are some risks that are just worth taking.”

Anne knocked lightly on the office door and then entered, finding it unlocked. He was not there. She crossed through the room and found the door into the Lab unlocked and standing open. She entered and called for him, “Severus? Where are you?” He did not answer, so she began to search the room, first with her eyes and when that failed, she walked through the room. She found him behind the demonstration desk, kneeling on the floor, his head clutched in his hands. She dropped beside him and gathered him to her, “What’s wrong, Severus?” He did not answer, but a cold, cruel voice that she had not heard in ages echoed in her mind- Voldemort, “How nice of you to join us- he will not speak, so do not try to get an answer.” Anne had an inkling of what was going on. She concentrated on connecting her mind to Severus’- it was an odd gift and she hadn’t really found a use for it until then. She felt her mind opening, the thoughts that ran through his mind running through hers also. Voldemort’s voice returned, “Well, Severus, look who finally decided to join us. This will be easier than I thought.” Anne had no idea what was happening, but she heard Severus think, “Why did you come, Lise? Oh God, why did she come?”

Anne realized what was going on when she found herself watching a much younger Severus sitting at a desk in the middle of a dark room with two high windows to the right of where she was observing from. She guessed that Voldemort was forcing Severus to relive this memory. She watched as he picked up a very sharp dagger from the desk, it’s hilt a simple cross shape glimmering gold in the dreary light, and contemplated the blade, “’Is this a dagger I see before me…?’” The blade was nice enough, a simple silver double blade that came to a very sharp tip that would do for either cutting or stabbing. It was then that Anne noticed that Severus had his sleeves shoved up slightly. She watched in horror as he laid the blade across right wrist and deftly dragged it across. He did the same with the other hand as his blood flowed freely onto the desk. The knife clattered to the surface of the desk as he sighed with pain. Someone in a dark robe and hood that completely obscured the face of the person under it entered and clicked the door shut behind them. Severus stared blankly ahead without any emotion on his slightly pinched face. The cloaked figure spoke with a voice Anne recognized but could not place, “Well, Severus, we have not been expecting this…but even so, you know that a follower of the Dark Lord cannot have such messy mistakes made within his rooms.” the man drew a little flask from his robes and poured the granular contents onto the wounds. Severus yelled in pain, but kept his head high as the man sealed his wrists with the painful solution within. The man chuckled, “Severus, we need you, remember, we need that potion for this weekend.” Severus nodded and the vantage point Anne was seeing from changed. It was then that she realized how she had viewed the incident: from the eyes of Voldemort himself. Voldemort walked past the desk and ran his finger through the blood, leaving a little trail of it across the desk where it had not spilt and flicking it onto the carpet. A very beautiful young woman with flaxen hair pulled up to a messy bun hanging low on her head and crystal blue eyes, her fair skin almost translucent in the dim light, shoved past the hooded man and into the room. Voldemort watched her intently she passed. She stopped at the desk, “Oh my God, Severus love- what did you do this for?” She pulled a towel out of a cabinet in the desk and, lifting his hands out of the pool of blood on the desk, placed the towel below them and sat his wrists on the towel, inspecting where the hooded man had sealed over his cut, “What on earth did he put in here? Whatever it is, I am going to have to reopen the wounds to get it out.” She set to work as Voldemort stopped his watching and left the room, closing the door behind him, “She is proving a distraction to him.” The hooded man nodded, “Yes, my Lord, but I think I have a way to be rid of her.” Voldemort had a smile in his voice, “Well, I will be looking forward to seeing your idea in action- nice work, by the way, there.” The hooded man took off his hood, “Thank you, my Lord.” Anne felt a little shock in discovering that the hooded man with the familiar voice was Lucius Malfoy. Voldemort inquired of him, “How is your wife?” Lucius nodded, “Well, the baby is developing normally- the doctors estimate she has another few weeks left to wait before he is born.” As Voldemort expressed his happiness, the scene faded from her mind and another faded in. She, still viewing the scene from behind Voldemort’s eyes, was bending over Severus, who was carefully checking over a sheet of notes and measuring a solution into a beaker. Voldemort was practically breathing down his neck, “You have failed at creating this so many times, I fear that it is too much to hope that it will be finished for the Potter job this weekend.” Severus slowly poured the contents of the flask to a cauldron on the worktable in front of him. The contents smoked and bubbled for a moment before calming. Severus slumped in relief, but the moment was celebrated too soon, for the cauldron then exploded upward and all the contents vanished. He stared at the notes, “I calculated everything so carefully- what happened?!” Voldemort sneered, “You cannot create my Black Gold, you have failed me yet again, Snape- that is what happened. I do not understand- you once had so much talent and promise…” He turned to a cloaked and hooded figure at the door and nodded to it. The scene began to fade as Anne tried to read the notes once more. She recognized them and then another scene faded up. They were back in the room where the first memory had occurred. Voldemort once again stood off to the side and watched Severus pouring over his notes and research. A knock came on the door and Voldemort spoke, “Severus, I do not take to failure lightly. I have an appointment with our friends James, Lily, and their baby tomorrow and you have made it so I have to change my plans. I do not like to change plans with so little notice.” The door opened and the hooded man stood there with a body in his arms. Voldemort nodded to the man and he brought the body in and dumped it on the floor. Severus sprang from his desk, “Josephine! Oh God….” Voldemort laughed, “As I said, I do not take to failure lightly.” He watched Severus as he arranged the body of the beautiful flaxen haired lady from the first memory so she was not so sprawled. She groaned slightly- she wasn’t quite dead, “Severus…love…you….” Her eyes drifted closed as he sobbed over her body, “Josie, no, please don’t…leave me.” Voldemort gave Severus’ hair a hard yank and pulled him by his hair away from Josephine. He tossed Severus headfirst into the side of the desk and hit him with, “Crucio!” Severus screamed in agony as the memory faded.

Anne did not break her connection with him, but waited so she could try to offer some comfort. Voldemort spoke to them again, “Well, now we have seen a reminder of what I will do to you if I cannot find you easily enough. Let’s drag a bit of Miss Lise Matthews into the light, shall we?” The room faded as they were once again submerged into memory.

Lise found herself sitting on a park bench near the beach. Off to her right, a little boy seven years of age with jet black hair played in the sand. He began to wander toward four strange, cloaked men, “Jonas, don’t bother them- come back here, dear.” The little boy dumped sand on one of the men’s shoes. The man muttered something under his breath and Jonas collapsed in a heap, “JONAS!” Anne screamed. She ran to him and gathered his little body in her arms. She carried him back to the bench and tried to revive him. Her efforts were in vain, the child was dead. One of the men turned toward her and the others followed. Anne had not known it then, but this was her first encounter with Lucius Malfoy, “You know, we can bring him back.” Anne glared up at them suspiciously, “Who are you?” He shrugged, “I could very well be a friend. I know you have been studying magic with the Old Man. I know he has brought you to a meeting of wizards at Alpha Omega, and I know that you liked what was spoken- wizards taking their rightful place as the leaders of society. If you join us, I will bring him back.” Anne looked at Jonas, “Whatever I have to do, I will, as long as you bring my baby back.” Lucius smiled, “Is he your child?” She shook her head, “No, I am just his Nana Lisie.” Lucius tapped the child with his wand and muttered something. Jonas woke up with a cough, “What w’ sat, Nana Lisie?” Anne bent over the child, “You ran right into one of these men and it knocked you out.” The little lad squirmed in her arms, “Sit still for a moment, Jonas.” She turned to the men, “What do I have to do?” Lucius handed her a card, “Meet us here on the date specified.” She nodded, “Fine. Consider it done.” The memory faded out with Jonas scrambling off to play.

Anne broke her connection to Severus. He regained a lock on his mind as Voldemort left. He did not wish for another intrusion. He stared at Anne, who was sitting tall and proud, still holding him, “Lise- what was that?” She shook her head, “I became a Death Eater to save the life of my little charge.” She bowed her head, “I am sorry about Josephine. Who was she, besides the ‘pretty lady’ from the portrait that I found this summer?” He shifted his weight and leaned back against the leg of the demonstration table, “That was my first love.” She took his hand, “I thought so. I know why that potion exploded too.” He was surprised, “What?” She gave a rueful laugh, “I made the Black Gold- it is what killed Angel’s parents, remember?” He froze, “That’s right, you did.” She rose and offered him a hand, “Please, come with me, I have to show you something.” They ventured back across the hall and into her empty chamber. She pulled her ebony box from her sea chest and set it on the table. Opening it, she set everything in it out except the papers jammed in the bottom and what was beneath them. She handed him a pile of papers tied together with string. He took it with shaking hands, “Oh my God- you…have my notes.” She nodded and drew out a single page of the few that had been on top of them that were written in her own hand, “These are the pages you saw earlier- the last one should be of interest to you.” He sat down and read the page, “You found the error in my calculations.” She nodded, “Yes- until I saw that memory, I didn’t know who these belonged to. There is another thing in this box that belongs to you, but I do not know if I should return it or not.” He set the papers aside and began to rise, “No, stay sitting- this could cause quite a stir.” She lifted an object wrapped in a soft cloth from the bottom of the box, “I was given this along with the notes, and it had not been cleaned in some time and still had residue of its last use on it. I worked on it until it looked new.” She unwrapped the object and handed Severus a cross shaped gold hilt, the blade that grew from the base glimmering in the torchlight. He stared at it, “Lise….” She took his free hand and turned it over; running her fingers over what was the scar from his failed attempt at suicide, “Promise me that you will never do that again.” He nodded. She took the dagger from him and wrapped it in its cloth, tucking the papers, potions, and other things back in her ebony box. She closed the lid and set it back in her sea chest. She then led Severus to the couch and let him lay down. She rested on the edge of the couch beside his reclining form, wondering if he would recover from the shock that she possessed the things that had cost him dearly to be rid of. As he lay still, staring at the ceiling, she took his hands and tried to think of something to say that would ease the situation, “Severus, I’m sorry if revealing that I possessed those items was too much, considering the situation. I should have waited until later.” He shook his head, “No, it is alright. I wondered whatever happened to those notes.” She smiled softly, “They were passed on to the next person to attempt the task. Apparently, from what I was told when I first entered his company, Voldemort had halted any attempts at making his Black Gold because he was without power and his followers were scattered. The Cambridge house was one of the first groups of Death Eaters to actively reassemble after his fall, so he risked the task with us. He handed me the notes and gave me the dagger, saying that it had belonged to one too cowardly to complete his work with it. I did not think to ask what had happened, I merely cleaned the dagger until it glimmered and sat it on my desk because I thought it looked neat. Now that I know from whence it came, having it in my possession takes a whole new meaning.” He sighed, “Do you think that I was too cowardly to finish the work with it?” Anne shook her head, “No, I think you were desperate and if you had been given time, you would have let yourself bleed to death. My God, Severus, that image is going to stick with me….” He closed his eyes, “Now you know why I was a bit uncomfortable knife shopping in London.” She hmpf’ed, “Sorry about that.” He shook his head, his eyes still closed, “No, don’t be. You mentioned that an image would stick with you, there is one that will stick with me too.” She tilted her head, “What?” “You sitting on the bench with Jonas limp in your arms, saying that you will do anything to get him back.” She nodded, “One of the things that I am most proud about- I may have sacrificed my own future, but I saved his.” Severus finally opened his eyes and sat up with her help, “I regret what I did, Lise- may I explain what was happening?” Anne nodded, “Of course.” He cleared his throat, “Perhaps I should just tell you the whole story at once.” She nodded, “If it will help you to deal with the situation, then please tell.”

“When I began my years at Hogwarts I was so naïve and far too optimistic that I alone could impact the world. I started out doing all I could to take opportunities to challenge myself. That faded fast during my second year when I was shunned by the brightest in the school as an annoyance. Yes, I was slightly arrogant, and I was far too proud to change so I would fit in. I fell in with a crowd of Slytherins who are all Death Eaters or in Azkaban now. During my fifth year- well, we won’t go into that now. I was treated like the scum of the earth and the thing that I remember most, other than that of which I will not speak, is that one of the popular, smart students told one of his friends that it was bad enough that I was alive…. The next year Vanessa died and then I had a run in with a fully transformed werewolf, thanks to Sirius Black. Unfortunately, it was James Potter who saved my life. When, if ever, I tell you about my fifth year, that will come clear. During my seventh year, a bunch of my friends began to pledge themselves to the Dark Arts, meeting out in the Forest. I covered for them, kept them out of trouble. After I graduated, Nigel found out what I was doing and that I had started dabbling in the Dark Arts myself- he knew that I had always been fascinated by such things, but he had never thought that I would actually attempt them. I joined the Death Eaters officially on my twentieth birthday. Nigel found out what I was doing and disowned me. I was twenty one at the time. I picked up the Daily Prophet one day and was perusing the obituaries to see if I could guess which deaths had been ours when I saw my mother’s name listed. I stopped and read the obituary, hoping it was all some sort of cruel joke. It wasn’t- she had died the same way Vanessa had while I was in school and under the surviving family I was not listed. I threw myself into my work, brewing whatever evil concoctions were requested of me. I left every bit of advice that my family had ever imparted on me behind and absorbed the doctrines of Voldemort. I began field missions and test runs as I turned twenty two and also discovered that Adelaide was Voldemort’s consort. She became pregnant with the heiress of Slytherin house. I was none too pleased- she and I had never agreed on anything and suddenly she was treated like a queen at my place of employment. In June of that year, Voldemort wanted me to test a particularly disturbing creation of mine on a wizard he thought was a threat to him. When he told me that it was Nigel, I refused. I was taken down to the basement of the meeting house and whipped until nearly senseless and left there to bleed. He asked me again if I would do it, and again I refused. This time I was tortured with fire and there are scars on my chest to prove it. He asked one last time and again I said no, despite what Nigel had done to me, I would not harm him- he was my father and I could not lay a hand on him. Finally Voldemort asked Adelaide what he should do. She told him to leave it be and to let him be tormented with the knowledge that two of his three children had turned to the Dark Arts for support, even though, as I learned this summer, Nigel never knew about Adelaide until after Jade was born. I was tortured once more, this time within an inch of my life, and then I was left to return to work. I began working on the Black Gold as a way to make up for what had happened about Nigel. I met Josephine that year also- she was new and was in research. We collaborated on the Black Gold and fell in love. Things were going well- we were married my twenty third year and were one of the best teams in all of the Dark Arts. My twenty fourth year brought about the murder of my older brother Robert. I did the task, as Voldemort said, with the utmost precision. Then came the downward spiral- I hadn’t perfected the Black Gold, he wanted it for the Potters, he began to have us all reminded of our failures and what had happened as a result of them. I tried to kill myself with the dagger Vanessa had given to me on my eleventh birthday to be free from the guilt and self hatred that was festering within. That too, failed- Lucius told me that evening that it was a pity that I couldn’t even commit suicide properly. You saw what happened in the laboratory, I failed again and so Voldemort destroyed that which was most dear to me- Josephine. She died in my arms. I turned twenty five a short while later and ran as fast as I could to Hogwarts; I knew that Albus could help me; he always had been able to. I started teaching during the school year and spying over the summers and vacations. Things haven’t really changed much since then, except last summer I was told by the Ministry that if they ever found me spying again they would accuse me of working for the Dark Lord. Albus told me to hold back and to take some time off, so I did. I still believe that my greatest failure was as a husband- not being able to keep Josie safe from what I was unleashing.” Anne sighed, “Josephine knew as well as you did that there were risks in working for the Dark Lord, she knew, as we all did, that if you dared to even form a slight attachment to someone else, then it was likely that one of you would die so that the other could be free from the fetters of friendship that might hinder a mission or task. Josephine knew the risks, and she was willing to take it because she loved you. You did not fail her; her last words were of love- she did not pass blame.” Severus stared into her eyes, “How do you know these things?” “Besides having just observed your memories through the eyes of the Dark Lord? I know because I too loved and lost because of the path that I chose. Do not forget that- I can help you because I too have felt that guilt and pain.” She lowered her eyes, “This is perhaps not the best time to ask this, but how did he get through to your memories?” Severus took both her hands in his and stared down at where their hands were joined, “I have had quite a bit on my mind, I have been fighting him off for quite some time- I took my frustrations out on you and I am very sorry if I harmed you at all in the hall. I did not mean to lose my temper, but I unfortunately did. I do not ask for your forgiveness, only that you understand what was happening to me. While I was trying to regain control over my emotions, he found my weakness- you; I could not keep up my guard and be without emotion when I was thinking of you. When I was trying to figure out why I had snapped in the hall, he entered my thoughts and began his work. Before you entered, he had replayed my memory of killing Robert. I couldn’t close him out, I was overwhelmed and I have gotten very little sleep in the last two weeks.” Anne gathered him to her, “My greatest friend, I understand completely. I do not hold against you what you have done, past or present. I have already forgiven you, whether you have asked for it or not.” He was exhausted, and seemed to deflate as she held him. She pulled away and stood, “lie down, get some sleep.” She pulled the blankets and pillow off her own bed and set them beside the couch. Severus removed his shoes and lay down on the couch. Anne lay the pillow down and he sank into it. She tucked the blankets around him and dimmed the lights, “Get some rest, weary soul, for today you have seen much pain that only the sweet repose of darkness can heal.”

Anne clicked her door shut softly and smiled gently as she shook her head. She crossed next door to Jade’s chamber. Draco and Jade sat on her big bed with Angel, all of them playing poker. Anne cleared her throat to catch their attention and all three of them turned to watch her. Jade set her cards face down, “What just happened? Angel told me that the pretty lady spirit was very agitated, but wouldn’t give Angel any knowledge of what was going on.” Anne came and sat beside her family on the bed, “Well, Voldemort managed to get past his defences and recall some particularly disturbing memories of his. The pretty lady has a name- it is Josephine. She was his wife when he was in his twenties and was killed in the Dark Arts. He told me his entire story and he has had a long, hard life. He is emotionally exhausted and is sleeping on my couch right now.” Draco smiled, “He really finally told you everything?” Anne cast her eyes down and let a relieved peace wash over her countenance, “Yes, he holds my past in his heart and I hold his in mine.” Angel climbed on Anne’s lap, “Are we going to let him sleep through dinner?” Anne smiled, “Yes, love, we will. We will get ready for bed in silence so he may sleep and we will let him rest.” She turned to Jade, “I thought you were tracking your father.” Jade sighed, “See, that is the problem- I tracked him and he led me somewhere near here. Albus recalled me- he thinks that Voldemort will reveal himself physically soon enough.” Anne nodded, “He had better- this covert stuff is downright cowardly. A real man stands up and faces his targets.”

The next day Anne awoke with a foreboding feeling about the day. She noticed that Severus had gone, assumedly to teach his classes. She showered and dressed in her everyday black dress, going to find Angel. Jade had already disappeared somewhere. Anne found Angel sitting on the table, “Mum- we have one hell of a problem. He’s gone, Mum- he’s going to face Jade’s Dad. I can’t do anything, they are telling me no and that you are going into a losing battle if you try on your own.” Anne grabbed her wand and tucked it into a little loop that she had stitched into the side seam of her dress at the hip, “Then I won’t go alone, but I am not letting Severus do this by himself.” Angel shook her head, “He’s not- Harry’s with him.” Anne froze, “Shit.” She turned to Angel, “Lock the door after I leave.” Angel sighed, “Mum- Jon says get your butt out there and kick Mould Man’s ass.” Anne grinned, “As much as I hate it when you swear, I couldn’t agree more.”

Anne left the room and wondered where she was going. She looked around and headed toward the Lab and then stopped to turn around and search deeper in the dungeons. As she walked away, Jade called to her, “Anne! Thank God I found you- they are in the forest and we have to move fast.” The two women ran outside and Anne followed Jade into the Forest, wondering what she was going to find when she got there. The crashed into a clearing and Anne saw Voldemort standing at one edge; across from him, Severus lay and Harry was just picking himself up. Jade was furious, “Dad, if you are going to be an ass, at least wait for me to arrive so I can undo your messes.” Voldemort laughed and Anne shivered- that laugh had followed so much pain. She hurried over to Severus and Harry. Harry sat down next to her as she turned Severus onto his back: he was hardly breathing and shuddered every few moments. Anne bit her lip to keep her emotion back. She turned to Harry, “How are you hurt?” Anne took one look at his wrist and declared it broken. Harry glanced at Severus, “Is he going to die?” A fire burned in Anne’s eyes, “Not if I can help it.” She cradled Severus in her arms and watched Jade, “Listen Dad, whatever you think you are doing here, I don’t care- just leave. This is my life, not yours and you are going to have to realize that I need to live it on my own.” He sneered at her, “Child, for that you yet are, you do not realize that my purposes do not concern you. Stand aside so I can kill the traitor, the brat, and the wench.” Jade glared at him and spoke in a slow, angry tone, “Let him be tortured by memory for the remainder of his life- it will be far more painful than death.” Voldemort nodded, “Yes, death is too good for him…if he lives, you have a good idea.” He turned his attention to Harry, “That will not work, however, for the boy.” Jade shook her head and cast on her father as he raised his want to Harry. It was just a simple spell, but it distracted Voldemort, “You want to duel?” Jade grinned, “Test me.” They started going back and forth and Anne noticed that Severus no longer shuddered- his breathing had become so soft that she could barely tell that he lived at all. She looked around at her surroundings- there had to be some way to let others know what was going on. She spied it- a little snake was curled up behind Harry, “Harry, hand me that little friend of ours when Mould Man isn’t looking.” He did as he was told and Anne whispered instructions to the snake and it slithered off on its duty. Anne sighed, “Harry- pray hard, I am going to have to make a move and I need all the help I can get- see if He’ll send a few angels or something.” Jade and Voldemort stopped their sport. Anne laid Severus down as Voldemort turned his attention to them, “Harry, watch him.” Anne stood up, “If you are going to kill any of us today, take me first.” Jade venomously protested, but Anne shot her a look that made her fall silent. Voldemort shook his head, “Your motion, no matter how noble, is useless- I will kill you and then the others. Give Snape to me for one more minute before we just let him die on his own.” Anne took a deep breath, “No.” Voldemort laughed, “And just how do you assume you can tell me ‘no’?” Anne’s resolve was as hard as stone, “He has already been spoken for.” Voldemort scoffed, “By that fool, Dumbledore?” Anne did not flinch, “No- by me, now back off before I kick your ass.” Time stopped for a moment and Anne took well advantage of this to strike out at Voldemort. She was not successful, but she did make him start. She knew she was on an impossible mission, but she did not care- she had a job to do and she was going to do it. Voldemort shook his head and raised his wand, “Ava-” Jade shouted, “NO!” and tackled Voldemort, causing his spell to hit a tree. It withered instantly. He tossed her off, her head striking a small stone. Anne spat at Voldemort, he took her challenge and cast something else to Anne at the same time she cast at him. With a great flash of blue, Anne fell to the ground unconscious. 

Harry was terrified. He was face to face (again) with Voldemort. A voice came from the edge of the clearing and Voldemort took off running. Dumbledore entered the clearing. He looked at everyone injured around the clearing and then at Harry, “He is gone, for now. What hit each of them?” Harry told Dumbledore what he could and as he did, Minerva arrived on the scene. Together they woke Jade, who helped to fill in a few gaps in the story. They managed to get Anne back from her darkness, but no matter what they did, Severus would not wake up. Anne watched as Albus petrified Severus and levitated him up to hip-height. Anne helped Harry up and nodded to Jade, “You alright?” Jade grinned, “Yeah.” They all made their way back to the castle. It had been a short battle, but the cost had not yet been determined.

Two days later was the last day of class and on Saturday, June twelfth the students finally left Hogwarts. Jade rode with Angel to head to Nigel’s house. Anne insisted on staying with Severus, who had not yet awoken.


	6. 6

Sunday, June thirteenth: most of the Hogwarts staff headed off to various residences for the summer, but Annelise and Poppy stayed behind to care for Severus, still healing from his encounter in the woods, but not yet conscious. Anne was terrified of losing him. She sat by his side every minute she could, taking her meals by his bedside and sleeping in one of the other beds in the ward. Poppy was not only worried about Severus, but about Anne, who was growing weary with worry, her face a little more gaunt and her skin slightly paler than was healthy.

On the sixteenth, Anne was taking her lunch when she heard Severus’ voice mumbling, “Lise? Lisie? Wha-?” Anne dropped her lunch tray, but did not notice her plate shatter or her glass be reduced to shards. She leaned over him, “Right here, don’t worry, I haven’t gone anywhere.” He was disoriented. Poppy entered and smiled, the house elves scampering in after to clean up the mess that Anne had not noticed that she had made. Poppy explained to Severus what had happened after he had been injured from a letter Albus had left and then told him how much time he had been out. Anne was having a hard time speaking at all. He struggled to sit up, despite Poppy’s protests, and Anne surrendered to his embrace.

The evening of the nineteenth, three days later and a Saturday, and Poppy gave Severus clearance to leave the next morning. Anne gathered her trunks and in the morning they departed by Knight Bus to Nigel’s house. They arrived late in the afternoon, both of them exhausted. They stood together on the front stoop and Jade opened the door, “Good Lord knows it is good to see you two. Angel kept telling us you would be home today. Apparently Vanessa has been giving her hints all week.” Severus nodded and turned to leave with his trunks, “Goodbye, Lise. I will see you in the fall.” Anne stopped him, “Please, stay one night?” He looked into her bright eyes, currently olive green, and nodded, “Of course.”

That evening, Anne sat on the edge of Severus’ bed as he lay drifting off into sleep after she had changed into her long white nightdress, her hair blanketing her shoulders. She watched him until she thought he was asleep and very tentatively bent over him. She gathered all her courage and kissed him ever so softly on the lips, not wanting to wake him, “I love you, Severus. Don’t you ever forget that.” She sat up, smiled, rose, and left the room. 

Severus had not quite fallen asleep. He opened his eyes and touched his lips- she had finally kissed him, “ _Thank you, Lisie._ ” he thought. He had kissed her before, yes, but she had never returned his favour. He sighed and turned over, she had finally confessed.

Anne, meanwhile, had gone to her room and pulled a piece of paper from her trunks and a single Gallion. She scribbled a little note and wrapped the coin in it. She then went to Angel’s room and set the parcel on Angel’s bed table, knowing Angel would find it in the morning. She then went to bed and fell asleep quickly.

In the morning, Angel unwrapped the coin and read the note,

_You win._


	7. 7

The day after Anne and Severus returned from Hogwarts, Severus returned to his own home. Try as she might, she could not get him to divulge the location of his house, the longest answer she got was gleaned as he was leaving, “Miss Lisie, you are far to inquisitive,” he said with a grin, “but if you must know, my house is located…not far from here.” He gave her a quick kiss and levitated his luggage out the door, leaving her shaking her head and smiling, “I’ll find out, Severus Victor Snape, if it is the last thing I do!”

Nigel and Jade held a little meeting in the kitchen that night after Anne and Angel had retired to the upper level, “Jadelyn, are those two more than merely friends?” Jade shook her head, “As far as I can tell, yes, but I can’t say for sure- Angel probably can, but Anne herself won’t admit it unless you confront her about it directly and she doesn’t really like to talk about that kind of thing.” Nigel laughed, “She doesn’t have to- it is plain as day that he thinks more than the world of her and unless I am mistaken, she is starting to do the same for him.” Jade nodded in agreement, “I hope they figure it out soon- I really would like it if she was my aunt.” Nigel grinned, “And I sure would like to have a daughter like her…would be a nice change from Adelaide.”

June passed without incident, which, in Angel’s mind, was perfect. Nothing adventurous occurred, that had happened far too much during the school year, and no one nearly died, Angel had seen that happen so many times in the last seven months that she thought Anne was going to become paranoid. July, however, did not bring so much luck.

July first: Chloë Schetzek sat by her sister’s bedside in a London hospital as the doctors entered to report on the results of tests they had run the day before, “Ma’am? We have the results from the biopsy we ran yesterday. We don’t think Elenore is going to come out of her coma- the cancer in her brain has spread too far and there is nothing more we can do for her.” Chloë nodded, “Well, what are our options?” One young man who was the lead neurologist stepped forward, “We really don’t have any options. We can leave her on life support and sustain her life in the coma or we can take her off of the machines and let her life end in her own time.” Chloë sighed, “Take her off.”

July second: Anne was sitting in her bedroom trying to get a brush through Angel’s mess of hair when an owl flew in her window and landed on the end of her bed. Anne paused her work with Angel and took the letter, paying the owl and allowing it time to rest. She finished with Angel’s hair half an hour later, well after the owl had left. Angel handed her the letter and Anne took it, “Who’s it from, Mum?” Anne broke the seal and opened the letter, “Chloë.” She read the letter and froze, her hand shaking badly as she finished reading, “Mum, what’s it say?” Anne sighed, “Ang, let me alone for a while.” Angel slowly left the room, glancing back at her mother as she left the room to find Jade.

Jade and Kath were occupied in the library when Angel found them, “Jade, something’s wrong with Mum.” Jade set the cat down and turned her full attention to Angel, “Why, what happened?” Angel sat beside her and began to tell what had just happened.

Anne refused to come down from her room to dinner when Nigel called to her, saying that she could not eat. 

The next day, Jade found a note on the dining room table and read it aloud to Angel and Nigel- no one knew where Adelaide had gone,

_“Lise Matthews Schetzek-_

_Lise, I have some bad news. You know how El battled cancer since just after you got here? Well she lost that battle and fell into a coma. She passed on July first. Lise, I know she was like a mother to you, especially after Jon died, and I know this is going to be hard for you- it is hard for me too. I love you, honey, keep your head high and you will pull through this._

_Chloë”_

Jade lowered the letter back onto the table, “Damn, Anne has had a hard year.” Angel climbed up onto Jade’s lap, “Now we know why she’s off hiding.” Jade squeezed Angel, “I wonder what we can do for her?” Nigel cleared his throat, “I don’t think we can, but I will write to Severus; he probably is the best help she can have right now.”

Jade went to see if she could find Anne after lunch. She searched in the wildflowers, in the reading tree, in the garden, and in the hay pile without success. Finally she checked in the barn. Anne sat in the middle of the floor with a shaft of sunlight streaming in from a second level window. Jade crouched down beside Anne, “Is there anything I can get you?” Anne shook her head and Jade gave her a brief hug, “Let me know if there is something I can do.” She left the barn, closing the door again behind her; Anne had been through so much in the last seven months that it was amazing she was still sane.

On July fourth, Nigel intercepted another letter from Chloë,

_Lise-_

_I cannot stand this house- it seems to creak and settle in the night without any explanation and is silent in the day. I have emptied the rooms of most of El’s things and I have one trunk of her belongings that I am not donating to charity. All of Jon’s things that got kept were in a trunk that went with that Nigel fellow (a right nice chap he was) and are wherever you are storing things. I have gotten rid of most of my excess belongings as well. I want to sell this house as soon as I can and find a nice flat somewhere out of the way, but first I was wondering if there was anyplace out in the country that you knew of that I could get away to for a week or so. I just need to be away from this place._

_I hope you are going to be alright._

_~C._

Nigel penned a response,

_Ms. Schetzek-_

_I hope you will pardon me for answering for Annelise, but she is not speaking to anyone at this time. I would be delighted to have you out to my home on holiday if you would like to come here for however long you need. If you find the arrangement here suitable, you might consider making it your permanent residence, seeing as we are always willing to expand the family to include any and all of those who love our constituents. Arrive whenever you please, we don’t believe in formality in this house._

_~Nigel Snape_

At the end of the day, he received a reply to his letter, along with another owl. He first read the reply from Chloë,

_Mr. Snape-_

_It is ever so kind of you to offer your home to a perfect stranger. Your generosity will never be forgotten. If you do not mind, I will arrive on the seventh- you do not need to write me a reply unless this is unfavourable to you. I am astounded at how freely you offer your home to me and am delighted to know that such people still exist in a world such as the one we know. If your family does not have a problem with me at the end of my visit, we can discuss the terms of the arrangement. I once again extend my greatest thanks._

_~C._

Nigel smiled and tucked the letter away- it would be nice to have someone at least a little closer to his age in the house- after all, he was nearly sixty and the oldest companion under his roof was Anne- a mere twenty-six years old. He opened the other letter and immediately recognized the strong script,

_Father-_

_I am greatly distressed to hear of Anne’s predicament. I will leave home as soon as I can pack my trunks. If she will listen, tell her I am coming to her._

_~Severus._

Nigel sighed and tucked both letters in his letter box; Severus was definitely dedicated to Annelise.

The next morning around ten o’ clock there came a knock at the door. Jade answered it to find Severus standing on the stoop with his two trunks. She stepped aside to let him enter, “I’m sorry you couldn’t have been called because of more pleasant circumstances.” He placed his trunks against the wall, “Where is she?” Jade shrugged, “I have no idea- she gets up early and disappears- doesn’t come in until late at night either, so we don’t see her and she doesn’t talk if we do find her somehow.” He nodded and went immediately upstairs. He glanced in each of the rooms, ending with his. As he was about to quit his room, he noticed a note pinned to his pillow,

_If I am not in the house, I am in the wildflowers._

_~Lise_

The letter was splotched with what appeared to be teardrops. He left it pinned to his pillow and went to seek out Anne. As he neared the wildflowers he contemplated calling out to her, but decided against it. He did not have trouble finding her- she had cut a path through the flowers into the heart of the patch to the place where they had lay and watched the stars the summer before. She sat with her knees tucked to her chest and her arms draped across them, her face buried in her arms, her hair draping over her, hiding her from the outside. Her thin, pale green dress pooled around her, the fabric fluttering in the light breeze across her back. Severus sat down beside her and gathered her close, “Lise, I am so sorry you have to go through this again….” She choked on a sob and brought her head up, her arms drifting to cross in her lap as she let her legs fold to the side. He released her and brushed her hair from her face, finding some of her hair soggy and stuck to her damp cheeks. Her eyes were red, her cheeks tear streaked, and there were dark circles under her eyes. The left spaghetti strap of her dress fell off her shoulder and revealed a little more of her pale chest that he was used to seeing. She did not bother to correct it as she starred off into the swaying flowers around her. She shook her head and glanced at first him, and then her fallen strap (it was on the same side as he) and then back at him with a little shrug as a vain effort to move it back into place. He fixed it for her and brought her close to him, enfolding her in his arms, “Oh Lise, I wish I could lift this from you and give you back your joy. I would take this from you if I could.” She felt fresh tears welling within her as he stroked her hair and gently rocked her. She broke into tears, burying her face in Severus’ robes. He held her tighter, “Hang in there, love.”

That night, Severus carried Anne up to her room and set her in the chair at her desk as he turned down the covers of her bed. He picked her up and laid her under the covers, tucking them in around her. He then came around to the other side of the bed and sat on top of the blankets. She had nearly been asleep when he had brought her upstairs and was now soundly sleeping. He lay down, “ _I’ll just stay here a few moments to make sure she is alright before I go off to bed- a few minutes won’t hurt._ ” He found himself drifting off to dreams and forgot his few moments, falling asleep less than five minutes later.

Anne woke on the sixth to find Severus beside on top of the blankets. She sighed and closed her eyes again- there was no sense in getting out of bed today, she wouldn’t do anything anyway.

Severus woke to find Anne sleeping. He slipped off to shower and change for the day and returned to her room, pulling her chair up to beside the bed. He settled down with a book and waited for her to wake up.

Anne did not leave her bed that day except for the bathroom and refused to eat. She fell ill on the seventh. Severus did not know what to do for her, but Chloë, who arrived that morning, seemed to, “Severus, either go yourself or tell someone to go make a pot of tea for the three of us- we are going to want it. Also bring up a hot water bottle and a thermometer.” He did as she instructed and returned to the room to find Chloë in his chair. He set the tea on the desk and handed Chloë the water bottle and the thermometer. She took Anne’s temperature, “Dear girl, you have got to take better care of yourself, no matter how awful you feel.” Anne grunted- she had a thermometer in her mouth. Chloë took it out and read the meter, “Poor dear, you have a bit of a fever- here, put this at your feet.” she handed Anne the water bottle and Anne did as she was told. Soon enough she was asleep again and Chloë was free to interview Severus, “Well, I would have hoped that our meeting, along with my seeing Lise again would have been in better times. Has she been eating?” Severus told Chloë all he knew of Anne’s behaviour. Angel, Jade, and Nigel all entered the room. Angel climbed onto Chloë’s lap, “How is Mum?” she whispered. Chloë smiled at the girl, “You must be Angel- Severus told me so much about you. Lise will need a little tending to, but I think she will be just fine.” Jade introduced herself and Nigel then took the girls out of the room. Chloë motioned for Severus to sit on bed beside Anne so that she was between where he sat on the bed and where she sat in the chair. He complied and Chloë sighed, “Really, I don’t think she will get better before she gets worse- there is a chance that we could lose her if we can’t get her to eat something.” Severus bit his lip. Chloë noticed, “You love her more than life itself, don’t you?” Severus paused for a moment, “Yes.” She nodded, “Thought so. Has she ever returned the sentiment?” He smiled softly and stroked Anne’s cheek, “Once, when she thought I was sleeping.” Chloë grinned, “That’s m’ girl. She won’t ever come out and admit to something that is in her heart- she would rather keep herself hidden away inside, waiting to be found than to pour herself out to anybody. That girl had a hard enough time believing Jon when he first confessed himself to her.” Severus sighed, “She is a very honest person when it comes to such matters, but it will take time for her to trust herself enough to bring them up.” Chloë tilted her head in acknowledgement, “She loved and lost and it brought her great pain- she was just a child when she was widowed. No woman should have to go through that at nineteen. It scarred her.” Severus kissed Anne’s cheek, “I know- it took her a long time to let herself admit that she loved me, or even to love me at all. After I told her that I loved her, she told me she couldn’t return it- and apologized for it, she felt so badly. I could see that she wanted to, but seeing as I was uncertain what I would find in Cambridge and if I would come home, I believe she was too scared to lose again.” Chloë nodded, “Yeah, I can see her doing that- poor lass.”

Anne grew more ill as the week continued. Chloë worked diligently at keeping spirits up and trying to do all she could as a nurse and mother to Anne. Anne became delirious in her continual sleep on the thirteenth and on the fifteenth Chloë admitted that there was nothing more she could do for Anne. On the sixteenth Anne was still, she did not wake or move all day and Severus feared for the worst. He had not left Anne’s bedside except to shower and use the bathroom since she had taken ill and was tired beyond belief. That evening he reclined on the bedcovers beside Anne and stared at the ceiling hopelessly. He turned on his side to face her as soft tears began to trickle down his cheeks, “Lisie, come on- don’t leave me, I just got you to love me; you have to stay.” He turned onto his back and stared again at the ceiling, drifting quickly off to sleep. An hour later, a little body wedged itself between Anne and Severus as Angel clamoured noiselessly into bed with her mother and her almost father.

Anne woke in the morning to bright sunshine, the scent of Earl Grey, and a little girl curled up beside her with a cat sleeping on her shoulder. Anne laughed softly as Chloë smiled down on her, “Welcome back, Lise.” Anne smiled, “Thank you, Chloë. It’s good to see you again.” Chloë grinned, “Actually, after all the time you have been so ill, it is good to see _you_ again.” Jade and Nigel brought up a breakfast tray for Chloë. Jade smiled and shook her head, “You three all snug together like that is absolutely beautiful. Anne nodded as Angel awoke, “Mum…what time is it?” Nigel handed Chloë her tray and checked his pocket watch, “Nearly eleven, why?” Angel shot a Cheshire cat grin at Jade, “I win- pay up.” Jade sighed and pulled a Sickle from her pocked and tossed it to Angel. Angel kissed her mother and climbed over her, kicking Severus who woke with a grunt, “Wha…?” He looked to the side to see what had woken him and found Anne helping Angel over her, “Lise!” She laughed as Angel jumped off the bed, “Told you she would wake up before noon.” She turned over to face Severus and smiled as he rested his hand on her waist, “I love you, Lise.” She smiled, “I know.” He raised an eyebrow, “And?” She laughed, “I love you too, Severus.” He gave her a peck on the cheek before heading off to shower and get ready for the day.

Anne got out of bed on the seventeenth and joined the family for a breakfast of applesauce and toast. She taught Jade how to make her vegetable soup and they had that for lunch. Anne did not leave the house, but rather she went to work on the sewing projects upstairs. She had Severus stand perfectly still while she fitted the cloak to him that had remained unfinished for all these years. She finished it that day and he was delighted to swish around the house in it for Angel the entire evening.

Anne worked on the coat covered in logo patches the next day and Nigel came up to observe, “Anne, I do not think that this really has a new owner yet- leave it be once you have finished it.” Anne nodded as he looked around to the other things in the room, “Jade would look stunning in Adelaide’s skirt- the fact that it is knee length would make Adelaide cringe. Vanessa’s dress should go to you, but my pyjamas still go to me- heaven knows I could use a new pair.” Anne laughed and kept working all through the day, Severus and Chloë stopping in every once in a while to see what she was doing. She finished the skirt and the pyjamas that day. On the nineteenth she worked on the white dress, tailoring it to her measurements. She had a special purpose in mind for this dress and was not going to let anyone know of it for some time.

On Monday, July twentieth, Nigel and Chloë finally let Anne leave the house after lunch. Severus offered her his arm, “Where do you wish to go, Lise?” She squinted in the bright sun, her very pale skin looking even paler, “To my wildflower spot.” Severus and she walked very slowly to the little clearing and sat down. Anne lay back and sighed, closing her eyes, “The sun feels good.” He reclined back, propped up on one arm watching her, “I’ll bet.” Anne smiled, “Talk to me.” He looked at her quizzically, “About what?” She opened her eyes and tipped her head so she was looking at him, “Anything- Hogwarts, your childhood, Nigel back in the day, anything, just talk.” She closed her eyes again and straightened her head. He lay down, “My early childhood was fine, and normal in everyway, but after age six, things went downhill. Nigel discovered that my mother had taken me out to meet her family, people that Nigel did not want any of his children to know, and bore down on my mother like a predator. I watched the entire thing in tears. She cowered beneath his thundering shouts, looking as though she wanted to sink under the table and hide. I blamed myself- after all, I had been the one who had convinced her to take Robert, Vanessa, and I out to see our other grandparents. She had her first heart problems that night while she and I were sitting in my room, she trying to convince me that it was not my fault. I still think it was. The doctors said that her heart condition had acted up because of stress. At just six years old, I barely knew the meaning of the word, but I understood well enough that Father’s yelling at her had caused it and that had been caused by my begging her to take us out to see our other family. That was the last time I heard them argue, but it was the last time that she was ever strong enough to be her old self. Looking back, I don’t really resemble Nigel from that age, except that he has this same blasted nose…anyhow, I do regret that I have followed his footsteps in my impatience toward you.” Anne opened her eyes and their gazes met for a moment, “That’s awful, Severus. Did anything ever get better?” He nodded, “A bit- I used to kill flies in Defence Against the Dark Arts class- our professor was as boring as Binns is now. He just told us all these useless facts and detracted house points if we tried to actually practice the counter curses he told us about. I liked to kill them when they were above him and his back was turned, so these dead flies would rain down on him. I have to say it was quite amusing. Unfortunately, my Quiddich years did not start out well- I landed on the team my second year, but a few unnamed gits in my year decided that during try-outs they would jinx my broom so it bucked and jerked around so that I was unable to properly mount it. Thankfully, my coach was a somewhat understanding person- the only problem was that the most desirable lady in all of Slytherin house was standing there laughing the entire time. I broke the damn broomstick and threw it on the ground, stole another student’s broom with the promise I would return it shortly, and went to catch the snitch. I ended up a Seeker. I loved that position, but that bastard Lucius Malfoy joined the team my fifth year and, because he was much more aggressive at getting the other Slytherins to like him, he took my position and bumped me to Keeper. Things only went from bad to worse- at the end of that year, things got out of hand. Four friends who had delighted in my discomfort since my third year decided to take their disturbances to the next level and I ended up upside-down and pretty much helpless in front of most of my classmates from all four houses. Needless to say, I have hated them ever since, especially since at that time I was very adamantly against Mudbloods, and the one person who even tried to stand up for me was just that- and a girl no less. I would prefer not to go into details of what happened there. Vanessa died the next year, as I told you earlier, and I had the encounter with the werewolf. I told you most of everything else. I managed to hide most of this from Nigel- he thought that I was a perfectly normal teenager who was a bit depressed some days.” Anne turned on her side to face him, “That is horrid, who were the four who were on your case the whole time?” He sighed, staring at the sky, “Remus Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, Peter Petigrew, and James Potter.” Anne sighed, “So that is why you had so much against Harry when I first met you.” Severus did not answer, merely let himself deflate and closed his eyes, “Severus, did that feel good? Confessing it all? Getting it off your chest?” He nodded and she smiled, somewhat sitting up so she could kiss his cheek, “Good.” She lay back down and took his hand, laying her other arm across her stomach, “What does that cloud remind you of?” He opened his eyes and squinted up, “A ship.” She nodded, “If you tip it over, it looks like a really messed up duck.” He laughed and shook his head, “Lise?” She hmm’ed, “Why did you want me to talk?” She shrugged, “I wanted to listen to your voice.” He stared back at the clouds, watching one coming at them, “Lise?” She hmm’ed again, “Does that cloud look like rain?” She sat up slowly, propping up on her elbows, “Um, that cloud is black as pitch, dumping buckets of rain, and heading right for us.” He sat bolt upright and then nearly leapt to his feet, “Chloë will kill me if I let you get soaked.” She laughed as he helped her up, “Then let’s get into the house as quickly as possible.” He scooped her up in his arms and walked quickly to the house, “Then I had better carry you- walking out here took forever.” She glanced over his shoulder, “There is no way you will beat it at this rate.” Thunder rumbled as an entire front of very disparaging clouds gathered and descended upon them. Anne laughed as he began to run, but the cloud was faster than Severus and the storm broke on them a few yards from the door. Chloë flung the door open as he ducked inside, both he and Anne soaked, “I tried to get her in before it rained…” Chloë did not give him the chance to finish, “Go and get dried off and changed. I will take care of Anne.” Chloë sent Jade upstairs to fetch a big, fluffy towel and Anne’s bathrobe. Jade came down with a towel, but she was not carrying Anne’s robe, “I can’t find her robe.” Chloë sighed as they walked Anne to the living room, “Shut the door and let’s get her undressed by the fire and dry her off.” The girls all helped a sopping wet Anne out of her clothing and she towelled off, wrapping herself in the towel. A knock came on the door and Severus slipped in. Anne’s towel slipped slightly down, but she managed to keep her front covered as she faced the fire, slightly embarrassed. He brought his bathrobe (black, of course) over and slipped it around her shoulders. He smiled, “Do not be ashamed, Miss Lise, you are quite lovely, even when you are a bit bedraggled and trying desperately to keep covered.” He turned and left the room, leaving all three women in silence. Anne dropped the towel and slid into the robe, tying it tightly around her slender waist. Jade brushed out her hair and began giggling, “Anne, you had the most priceless look on your face when he stepped in here.” Chloë grinned, “Confess, girl, when are you planning on getting married?” Anne shook her head, “Never, Chloë, at least not until he asks and it somehow tugs my heart enough to break that ice.” Chloë and Jade laughed, “Right, whatever,” Jade remarked as she worked the knots out of Anne’s hair, “and I am going to suddenly become a Death Eater in a miniskirt- just don’t make me wait for this too long, I want to see Angel as a flower girl, not a bridesmaid.” Anne sighed, “Don’t worry- as my friend Lanie once told me, ‘If it is meant to be, all things will fall into place easily and the wait will seem like nothing.’”

August first: Anne awoke in the morning with an incredible urge to garden. She did not bother to shower, deciding that it would be silly to do so and then go outdoors to sweat and get covered in dirt after showering. She pulled on a pair of jeans shorts and a tank top and wandered out to Nigel’s vegetable garden to dig the weeds. Severus wandered out to find her around ten o’clock, “How early did you wake up?” She shrugged, “Since six.” “What possessed you to get up that bloody early?” he asked. She laughed, “When you can’t fall back asleep, you might as well begin the day.” He nodded, “That sounds logical to me.” He stood at a distance and watched her for a moment- he had never seen her in anything but a dress before. She knelt down; her long legs smudged with dirt getting a little dirtier as her knees landed near the carrots. She tugged at a very stubborn weed and a shower of earth spouted up as it finally flew free and Anne toppled backward. Severus walked over and crouched beside her to help her up, her piled hair now speckled with dirt clods. He laughed, “Are you alright?” She grinned as he helped her up, still clutching the weed, “Yeah. I beat the weed!” She tossed it to the side and attacked another one, “You want to help?” He shook his head, “Whatever plants I ever took care of died- I had better leave this to you.” He rose and left for the house while she triumphantly ripped yet another weed from the row of carrots.

The weekend went nicely, and things on Monday started out that way also, but the day was not without surprises. Before noon, a knock came on the door and Anne answered it to a grey day and two young faces watching her, “Hello? May I help you?” The oldest was a scraggily teenage boy with jet black hair, his hair mostly short, except for his bangs which hung down to his chin, and eyes as black as night. He was dressed in baggy jeans and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt. Next to him was a little girl, younger than Angel, with a round face and the same black hair, hers hanging down to her waist. Her large, round grey eyes never left Anne. The boy grinned, his black eyes glittering, “Hey, my name is Jonas and this is my half sister Ursula- we have come from London to seek out our mother who left us there as we were each born with a woman we have called ‘Grandmum Gleichbaum‘.” Anne was in shock, she knew this boy with the soft, low voice, “Jonas? My little Jonas? It’s me, Nana Lisie- do you remember me?” Jonas stopped, “Nana Lisie? Oh my God, it is you! I thought I recognized you!” Anne was beaming as she gave Jonas a hug, “Now, how can I help you?” He pulled away from her and lifted up Ursula, “We had letters left with us as children that said our mother was a woman named Adelaide Snape- do you know her?” Anne nodded, “Yeah, how did you know she would be here?” Jonas pulled two letters from his pocket and handed them to Anne, “Here, these are the notes she left with us. They are short, but they were what we had to go on. Grandmum Gleichbaum died this past week and the letters say that if that should happen we should come here and seek out our mother.” Anne read the letters,

_Mrs. Gleichbaum-_

_Many years ago our family did yours a service in a great time of need and I now would like to call a favour in return. I am unable to keep and care for this child, Jonas Robert Snape. His father is unknown to me and I do not wish to risk bringing him home to the life I lead there. If anything should happen that would prevent you from caring for my son, please come to the following address._

Anne flipped over to Ursula’s letter,

_Yet again I come to you in need. This is Jonas’ half sister, her father also unknown to me. She is called Ursula Morrighan Snape. If you are unable to care for this or my other child, please seek out the address as follows._

She handed the letters back to Jonas, “You have found the proper address and the rest of your family. Please, enter.” Jonas set Ursula down and brought their two trunks into the hall, “If you don’t mind me asking, how did Missy Gleichbaum die?” Jonas shrugged and closed the door behind him, “We really don’t know- she was a squib, told us so herself, and brought us up to acknowledge magic, both good and bad. One day we came home and found the house open and her dead in her chair. The police said they could find no logical reason for her to be dead, she just was. Ursie and I suspect Dark Wizards.” Jade stomped down the stairs muttering something about Adelaide being impossible and froze, staring at Jonas and Ursie, “Whoa- they have got to be related.” Anne laughed, “Jade, go get the rest of the family and meet in the living room, I have a few introductions to make.”

Jonas and Ursie followed Anne into the living room and sat down on the couch. Anne stood behind them, “I guess we wait to see who comes first.” In bounded Angel. She grinned, “Another kid! This is great! Hi, I’m Angel, who are you?” Ursie shyly took the hand Angel extended, “I’m Ursie.” Angel nodded, “Wild- I love your name. This is GREAT!” Chloë entered next and sat down quietly in a high-backed chair by the fireside. Severus followed and did the same. Jade entered, rolled her eyes at the fuss that was occurring behind her, and plopped down on the couch beside Angel, “I cannot believe that woman.” Adelaide was whining about not having her makeup done and Nigel was prodding her along, “Get in there, girl, you don’t need to look like a hussy every moment of your life.” Adelaide took one step in the room and stopped, staring at Jonas and Ursie, “No, there is no way I am sitting through this.” Nigel spun her around, “Adelaide Morrighan Snape, you will get in there and sit respectfully or you will not be leaving this house for a week at best.” She groaned, “Do I have to?” Anne, who had not yet been seated, strode over to Adelaide, “Girl, get your butt in there before I pin you to the wall and leave you there for a few days.” Adelaide glared at Anne, “You wouldn’t dare.” Anne grinned, “I wouldn’t push me if I was you- after all, we did stick you up there last summer.” Adelaide found herself stuck and sat down on a footstool. Nigel planted himself in the recliner behind her. Anne began, “Ok everyone, we have some very delightful company joining us today- might I present you with Jonas and Ursula Snape, half siblings to Jadelyn and children of Adelaide.” Jade broke out into the biggest grin, as did Angel, and they both jumped off the couch and gave a yell, “YES!” Jade laughed, “I have siblings!” Angel danced in a little circle, “I’ve got more family! Yay!” Nigel chuckled, “Sit down, ladies; you probably just scared them off.” He turned to Adelaide, “So…this is where you disappeared to those months five and fifteen years ago.” Adelaide was not happy, “Yeah, I did, and I left them with that German woman for a reason.” Severus turned on Adelaide, “Adelaide, how dare you speak in such a manner in front of your own children!” Chloë rose and shook each of the newcomers’ hands, “How do you do- I am Chloë Schetzek, not really part of the Snape family, but close enough.” They each greeted her, Jonas a little more easily than Ursie, who had a tendency to be shy around strangers. Nigel sighed, “Severus, Adelaide, please shut up. I will take care of her, Severus. Adelaide, leave this house if you cannot deal with your own children seeking refuge within its walls.” Adelaide left in a huff. Jade explained her behaviour, “She doesn’t like to be reminded that she is no longer sixteen and she doesn’t like other people to think that she has kids- essentially, she is a party wench.” Jonas shrugged, “I figured as much- I mean, why else would she have left us, after all that Grandmum Gleichbaum told us about her, we thought she would have kept us- Gran G. said that Adelaide wasn’t poor or anything, just afraid of her social standing.” Jade nodded, “Yeah, she ditched me with her father- well, she was going to give me up too, but Nigel found out and forced her not to. I am rather thankful that I got to stay with him.” Nigel rose, “As will these two- now, we will have to share rooms- how about Ursie and Angel staying together, and Severus, would you mind rooming with Jonas?” Severus shook his head, “As long as he doesn’t mind my coming or going at odd hours of the night.” Jonas shook his head, “No, I don’t mind- but who are you, we didn’t get introduced properly.” Nigel smiled, “This is your Uncle Severus, who is the reason that Annelise ended up with us- she and he work together.” Angel beamed with excitement, “I am Anne’s daughter. That means we are unofficial cousins, like me an’ Jade. Nigel is your grandfather, and he is really cool- hey, you want to go see the barn?” Anne laughed as Jonas and Ursie followed Angel and Jadelyn outside to explore the property. Severus sighed, “Let’s go get their things upstairs. Hopefully Jonas can tell us more at supper tonight.” Anne smiled, “I think they’re lovely.” Nigel nodded, “Except that he doesn’t have the nose of the Snape men, Jonas looks a bit like you did- with a different style of hair.” Anne chuckled, “Well, he is one charming young man, and she is a beautiful little lady. It will be good for Angel to have more children around to play with.” They brought the two trunks upstairs, unsure which would go where, but Anne found nameplates attached just above the lock and the trunks were properly placed. Nigel went into the huge storage area of the house and somehow found two beds, “I think these belonged to my mother…oh well, they will work for Jonas and Ursula- now Anne, go see if you can’t find some mattresses back there….”

At dinner, Jonas told the family about his and Ursula’s trip from London. There was not much of his history that was unusual, he and Ursie had a perfectly normal life until the death of Frau Gleichbaum and then they had packed up to come and find their family. Anne watched the reactions of everyone at the table when Jonas revealed that he had known Anne back during her Cambridge days. Later that evening, Anne briefed Jonas on her history and Severus told him a little of what had been happening in his life. Jonas retired for the night and Anne went to tuck in Angel and Ursie. Severus met her outside the girls’ room, “Care to sit up a while?” She sighed and smiled, “Sure.” They wandered over to the library where Severus had tea set up. Anne laughed, “So sure you were going to get me to come?” He shrugged, “If you weren’t going to come with me, I would have taken tea by myself.” Anne sat down as he served. He handed her the cup and posed a question, “So- how do you feel about Jonas and Ursie? Do you think they are really Adelaide’s?” She nodded, “They are hers- Jonas looks so much like he is a part of this family now that it is not even funny. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize his eyes immediately. He was the only child I ever knew with black eyes like that. The reason that I didn’t know he was a relation of yours is that Frau Gleichbaum never used his last name. He was the little boy who Lucius killed at the beach- the one I saved by signing my services to Voldemort. Ursie looks so much like a stout little Jade that it is uncanny, especially with those grey eyes of hers. I have always loved Jonas and always will- I treated him like my own when I took care of him. Ursie is shy, but sweet, and I know that she too will grow very close to us all.” Severus smiled, “It was odd to see Jonas- he looks more like Robert than me- Robert didn’t get the hooked nose either- he had Mother’s features and was just as soft spoken as Jonas too.” Anne watched Severus for a moment as he thought on his older brother, “Severus, are you going to be alright?” He nodded as she sipped her tea- it would be odd to have two more people in the household, but Anne was sure that everything would turn out well.

The next night Jade got wind of a barn dance down the way and the entire household (except Adelaide) went to go find out if the music was going to be as good as the rumours said it would be. Nigel chatted lightly as they walked down the road, “The family just moved here from Ireland- the whole lot of them, the grandfather, his three children, and their families, all with hair as red as the sunset.” Angel tugged on Anne’s dress, “Maybe it’s Holli!” Anne laughed, “Well, Ang, you never know, do you?” Jade and Jonas talked about their last year, Jade telling Jonas about Hogwarts. Jonas was excited, “You mean there is a school just for us where I won’t be considered quite a freak? This is so great! Maybe I won’t get beat up as much there!” Ursie and Angel pretended they were princesses on the way to the ball to meet a handsome prince- the only catch was that the Queen of Angel’s realm and the King of Ursie’s realm (Anne and Severus) had to fall in love before the stroke of twelve or the princesses and their servants (Jonas and Jade) would be turned to statues until the footman (Nigel) woke them from their spell with a goodnight kiss. Anne found their fantasy quite fascinating. She and Severus were discussing the state of Hogwarts’ defences and how they were going to prepare the students for whatever Draco had hinted that his father was involved in bringing down against Hogwarts. They finally arrived at a huge apple barn; the doors flung open and music already filling the evening air. The house that sat off a ways from the house was not terribly large, but not terribly small either- it was hard to tell much more than that in the dark. Angel and Ursie entered the barn close beside Nigel, followed by Jonas and Jadelyn and finally Anne and Severus. Angel yelled, “HOLLI! I told Mum that it was you!” Sure enough, Holli stood greeting people as they entered, “Ang! This is wonderful! Where’s your Mum?” Angel introduced her group, “You know Jade and Mum and Severus back in the back, but this here is Jonas, and Ursie- they are Jade’s half siblings, and this is Nigel, the head of the Snape family.” Holli smiled, “My clan is mostly playing the instruments right now- my Mum and Dad, along with two aunts and an uncle and my grandfather are up there. Not playing is my cousin Erin- she looks to be about the same age as your Jonas.” Holli called to a frail looking fair skinned girl with wonderful red hair waving past her shoulders, “Snape clan, this is Erin. Erin, this is Nigel, Jade, Jonas, Ursie, Angel, Anne, and Severus. Anne and Severus teach at the school I went to.” Erin shook everyone’s hand and welcomed them to their barn. The party went on. 

That night, Severus and Jonas each carried a child back to the house. Angel and Ursie had not found princes, but they had not been turned to stone, for Severus had kissed Anne’s cheek while they were dancing and that was a good enough confession for them. Nigel’s birthday was the following Sunday and then on Monday the eleventh all was back to normal. Anne was restless. Severus had gone back to his home after Nigel’s birthday dinner so he could fetch a few things for the upcoming Belfast Convention. Anne thought that he had gone at the worst time- she was very much in need of him that day for some reason. Jade confronted her about it, “Anne, you act as though you were in earnest waiting for the Second Coming, pacing around the house like this- what is going on?” Anne shook her head, “I just want to be held today, but since Severus is not here, that really won’t happen.” Jade shook her head, “He hasn’t asked you to marry him yet- damn woman, the way you are without him for even a day would be enough evidence to me as to why you two need to be together.” Anne laughed, “Hey, just because he hasn’t screwed his courage up to come to me doesn’t mean I am not waiting.”

They left for the Belfast Convention on Friday the fifteenth. Chloë chose not to attend the convention, rather went to Cambridge to close out a deal on her house. She had officially become a member of the Snape household at Nigel’s insistence. The rest of the clan spent the entirety of Saturday at workshops, Severus never letting Anne go anywhere without him and the children stayed with Jade and Jonas while Nigel did his business alone; he liked it that way. They met with a few unpleasant faces there, but not so much as the year prior. That evening came the ball. Jade and Ursie’s room adjoined Anne and Angel’s and they left the door open between them so they could get dressed and help each other to get ready. Jade wore the same dress she had worn the previous year, as did Angel. Ursie wore a black full skirt and a black medieval bodice embroidered and beaded by Jade. Jade wove silver threads into the braid they made of Ursie’s hair and then twisted the braid into a bun on her head. Jade then set to work on her own hair, brushing until it gleamed and clipping it to one side with a gold clasp with long gold tendrils tracing down from it through her hair. Anne, meanwhile, was adjusting her dress. She wore a brick red empire line dress of satin with a black velvet band emphasizing the high waistline and black lace trimming the elbow length sleeves. The scooped neckline was nearly not a scoop at all, rather a very low square neckline that was very rounded at the angles. Anne piled her hair up, securing it with a black velvet band and clipped on a pair of teardrop earrings that matched the colour of the dress. She made sure the necklace Severus gave her hung nicely and stood in front of the mirror, “Angel, do you think this is too low?” Angel grinned, “Mum, you are absolutely gorgeous- do you have gloves to go with it?” Anne pulled out her black satin gloves and slipped her fingers into them, tugging them halfway up her forearm where, with a little help from a charm, they would stay the entire night. Angel stared into the mirror, “My God- Mum, you are absolutely stunning. No it is not too low, it is period for the empire line formal. The colour is perfect for you- it brings out the little bit of red in your hair and it makes you look like you are not just pale, but it brings out the colour in your skin. Knock ‘em dead, lady.”

The girls were the first in the hall, waiting for the guys. Jade and Anne locked their doors and waited for the men to join them. Nigel exited first in his Charles Dickens tuxedo, followed by Jonas who looked dapper in his modern tuxedo with tails. Severus, as last year, was the final one to exit, locking the door behind him. His jaw dropped when he saw Anne. She flushed and cast her eyes down out of modesty. He offered her his arm, “Lise- you are absolutely beautiful.” She said a quiet thanks as Nigel offered Jade his arm and Jonas took charge of the two little girls. They entered the ballroom in the same manner as the year before, but there were a few changes that they noticed. Anne and Severus did not head immediately for a bench, rather they headed straight for the dance floor, many eyes staring at Anne- she really was quite a looker. Nigel took Ursie and danced first with her while Jonas and Angel took to the floor. Jadelyn started her search for Draco. She found him with a group of other Slytherins, looking as though he wanted to be anywhere but where he was. Jade boldly strode up to them, “Hey Draco, get off the wall.” He turned to her and broke into a grin, “Jade! Hey!” He immediately broke off from his conversations and joined her, whispering, “Good timing- I really hate those people.” She smiled as they began to dance, “So, Draco, you want to dance to make daddy happy?” He shook his head, “There is no way you are going to pin me with that this year- I want to dance to make Jadelyn happy.” She laughed, “This I like!”

They danced the night away, everyone happy and no Adelaide to drop snide little comments to either Anne or Severus. They walked back to the hotel and Jade let the little girls into the room. Draco had escorted her to the hotel. He kissed her while Nigel’s back was turned, “Thanks- that was a lovely evening. I’ll see you in the fall.” He began to leave when Anne called to him, “Be careful- the streets are rough at night.” He nodded, “Unfortunately Father is waiting in the Lobby. He is worse than whatever is on those streets.” Anne laughed and Jade slipped into her room. Nigel opened the door and held it for Jonas, “Give them a moment to themselves, Jonas, they need it.” Anne blushed slightly as the door clicked shut. Severus framed her face with his hands and kissed her gently. She returned the motion. He was pleasantly surprised; as they parted, his face shone with serenity. Anne was slightly breathless and opened her eyes slowly. She smiled sweetly, “Goodnight, love.” He made sure she got in her room, “Goodnight, gorgeous.” He slipped into the guys’ room and fell into bed the instant the emerald velvet dress robes that Anne had sewn for him over a year ago were draped over a chair.

They returned home on Sunday and Anne packed her clothes again so that she could take a trip to London with Jade on Monday. Britta and Rah had invited Anne and Jade up to stay with them for a week just as a ‘girls’ week’. Anne and Jade had enthusiastically accepted, Chloë offering to make sure that Angel did not get into too much trouble. The girls found themselves on a familiar street, “Jade, read me the number on that.” Jade pulled a card out of her pocket, “It says ‘number thirteen’- hey, Anne, I just remembered why we recognize this street- Harry lives right there.” Anne laughed, “Right you are, Jade- we will have to drop in sometime and see how the boy is faring over the summer.” They made their way down the street until they found a strange little house tucked toward the end. Unlike the other perfectly neat little houses all lined up in a row, this one was set slightly crooked, its roof copper shingled and its siding black. The house looked eerie, but the curtains in the windows dispelled the ominous mood- anyplace with hippie curtains covered in flowers, peace signs, and smiley faces could not be evil. Jade laughed as she noticed that the mailbox was shaped like a giant grasshopper, “These girls certainly had a time with this house.” Anne nodded as she walked down the path to the door. She knocked and heard a loud crash from inside before Rah opened the door, “Sorry- Brit just destroyed the coffee table- come on in!” The week was devoted to girl time, chatting about Jade and Anne’s men, and ragging on Britta and Rah for being single. They watched chick flicks like no other and survived off of pizza, popcorn, pasta, and as many caffeine-filed beverages as they could get their hands on. On Saturday they knocked on the Dursleys’ door and asked Vernon if they could see Harry. He remembered Anne, “You were the girl who told that wicked bloke off at the dance at that freak school.” She nodded as Jade entered the house and made a beeline for Harry’s room, “He’s up here.” Vernon was confused, “How does she know that?” Anne shrugged, “Hell if I know- Jade just does things, none of us can tell how.” Harry came down with Jade in front, Dudley trying to prevent her from descending the stairs, “You can’t get past me with that runt, just try and I’ll-” Jade cut him off with one of her glares and a quick shove that sent him staggering backward, “Kid, if I had come here to mess with you, I would have marched straight up to you and gotten business done- I don’t mess around.” He did not approach Jade again. Britta smiled, “Hey, Harry- come on down to our place for the afternoon? We are having a skee-ball competition in the yard and are playing ninepins in the basement, it will be a great time and we are just at the end of your street!” Vernon was displeased, “ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Anne sighed, “We are only here until tomorrow and we have been looking forward to his company this entire week…now what do you expect us to do this evening?” Jade looked like she was going to kill someone. Vernon looked at her, at Anne, and at the two fairly normal looking women in his living room, and then back at Jade, “Fine, go, but be back by midnight!”

Sunday morning, Jade and Anne stopped in front of Harry’s house and shouted a farewell before they returned to Nigel’s house. Tuesday, August twenty sixth was Chloë’s birthday and she celebrated with fireworks she had been making for the last week. No one asked how she got the materials or where she learned to make fireworks, but since it was pretty, no one really cared either.

The next day, Severus departed for his home and Anne took Jade, Angel, and now Jonas into Diagon Alley to shop for Hogwarts supplies- somehow Jonas had gotten a letter, Dumbledore must have thought him ready. Anne and Jade arrived at Hogwarts on August thirtieth with the rest of the staff. On the thirty-first, the students would once again arrive at Hogwarts, marking the beginning of Anne’s third year teaching.


	8. 8

Once again the students filtered into the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony and for the beginning of term announcements. Anne watched to see where Jonas would sit and found him with the Ravenclaw students, chatting quite comfortably with Zack. She smiled and watched Angel plop down with the Gryffindors and began to tell Hermione, Ron, and Harry all that she could about her summer in the next few minutes before the Sorting Hat was brought out. This year, things were to be a little different. The Ministry had gotten an anonymous tip that there would be trouble from Voldemort toward the coming summer and Dumbledore and the Sorting Hat had thought it a good idea to impart a feeling of house unity in Hogwarts. The four house heads all stood off to the side of the platform to welcome each new student to Hogwarts, no matter what house they were in. Instead of Minerva presiding over the ceremony, as usual, the Headmaster himself did. Anne had a grand time and, as last year, Anne, Angel, and Jade sung the Hogwarts song to the tune of **_Scotland the Brave_**. The house heads returned to their places at the head table, Severus settling in beside Anne as Jade grinned at Anne. Anne elbowed her in the side. Severus nodded to them, “I trust there is no problem here, ladies?” Anne shook her head, “No, Severus.” Jade’s Cheshire Cat grin reappeared and Anne knew that something mischievous was brewing, “Not a problem at all- and that is precisely Anne’s problem- she is very happy to see you back here already.” Severus winked at Anne, “All is well then, for I would expect no less of this charming lady.” Jade’s joke had fallen flat on its face, she shook her fist at them both, “I will find a way to get you back for that.” she said with her trademark grin.

Anne was anxious to start her class the next day and discovered, to her delight, that there were only a few changes to her list from last year- Crabbe and Goyle were not returning and Jonas was coming in for the first time. Anne was still trying to figure out what she was going to teach when it came time for her class. She sat on her desk and addressed her class, Angel, and Jade, “O.K., we have a new face here this year, so I want each of you to introduce yourselves up here to the class in a manner worthy of theatre. I don’t want anyone to just flip this off; it is a chance to warm up again after the summer.” Harry went first, “Hello ladies and germs- I am Harry Potter, and I just flew in from London- man are my arms tired! Anyhow, did you ever hear about the kid who tried to steal money from Gringotts? They say that he had a Knut for a brain! Alright folks, this crowd is about as dead as Salazar Slytherin, that’s for sure.” He took his seat, “Harry,” Anne commented, “don’t quit your day job.” He laughed. Hermione took the stand. She moved her desk to the centre of the horseshoe and mounted it like a soapbox preacher, “I, Hermione Granger, have been on this corner for seven years, yes, seven years, and I have seen miracles, for the day of Judgement is near! Repent, people, for when the day comes when God visits his wrath on this earth, not even Voldemort will be spared, that sorry sot of a sinner! He will burn with the rest, do you hear me, he will burn!” Hermione stepped down and replaced her desk. Ron stood in the circle and began to disco, “Hey, I’m Ron Weasley and I’m stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive! Whoohoo! Break it down! Do the seventh year shuffle- oh yeah, just like that!” He danced back to his seat, leaving Jade laughing uncontrollably. Ginny shook her head and took her place in the centre, “Hello, my name is Ginny, and I am a pyromaniac. I have not lit a fire in over six days. This is my longest record yet.” She sat down, leaving some of the students slightly puzzled. Anne was grinning, “Good ol’ self help groups…great fodder for a good joke.” Neville stood in the centre of the room and began to mime out the letters of his name, then the number for his year. He then sat down and Anne shook her head, “How you thought of that I will never know.” Draco took his place, his face growing serious, “To be, or not to be, that really isn’t too much of a question, since suicide is not an option. We are stuck here and must be. I am- and I am Draco Malfoy, not my father. I exist in my own state. Alas poor Yorrick, I knew him, Horatio, and he did not remember to be while he lived and therefore is _not_ in his death. I am not my father, and I do not wish to be.” He sat down after his soliloquy and Elenore and Susan replaced him, singing, “We are Elenore and Susan, singing Hufflepuffs of year seven, stuck in classes without a clue as to what we will ever do. We sing we dance, we fall out of a trance all to say hello today for we have been here for three years hey and think that we are rather going insane.” Anne laughed, “O.K., so my class drove you to insanity- that is nice to know, since I thought I was the only crazy one in this room.” Zack got up and grinned, “Hi, I am Zack Pitman; you want to buy a watch? I got Rolexes here for real cheap, man, like only a few dollars. You sure none of you want to buy a watch? I really mean these are Rolexes- and I can guarantee you that thirty percent of them were acquired semi-legally. No one? O.K., your loss.” Brittany bustled up to introduce herself, “I- am Brittany Gwyn, Slytherin and member of the Malfoy clan, proud to uphold the history that my cousin Draco so shamefully casts down into the dirt to be trampled by those less worthy.” 

Jonas rose to introduce himself, “I am Jonas Snape and I will be countering the claims made by Miss Gwyn. She believes that the cause of Lucius Malfoy is some crusade worthy of a king when it is really a reign of terror meant to kill those who are not purebloods. In doing this, you would be removing people in this room from life, all because you stand behind a creed that is outdated and prejudiced. I do not know if my father was Wizard or Muggle, so you hate me just in case, right? I think that by casting down the name of Malfoy that he is upholding a far stronger truth than yours and his will be the rewarded one.” Jonas sat down and Jade rose, “I am Jadelyn Adelaide Vanessa Riddle, half sister to Jonas Snape. I have a vision on this day that one day I might see my little sister grow up in a world where her bloodline will not determine her treatment, a world where Anne will not be called a Mudblood, and where there will be no bloodlines to separate two people who love each other. Thankfully, I am allowed to be with my boyfriend because I am pureblood and his family is full of idiots who actually care about that sort of thing. Angel is pureblood; she is treated fine, but what about her mother? Anne is Muggle-born and proud of it, yet she is treated as an inferior to her child. This is not right, get off your high horse, Gwyn, or be prepared to fall from it.” Angel was grinning as Jade returned to her desk. Angel stood in the centre of the horseshoe, “I’m Angelique Marie LeFay, I am here today to tell you about a new plan to keep you on the straight and narrow- it is called the ‘Give-Me-Any-Of-That-Pureblood-Superiority-Crap-And-Get-A-Five-A.M.-Detention-With-Professor-Snape’ plan. It works, because he really is not too happy to have to get up ridiculously early to spend his morning watching you scrub cauldrons. We do have some alternative plans if this seems out of your league- there is the ‘Filch’s-Hanging-By-Your-Thumbs-In-The-Dungeons’ plan and the ‘Get-Ye-To-The-Forest’ method. All of these are merely sixteen ninety-five plus shipping and handling. Call now and get your very own bullwhip absolutely free!” Angel sat down and grinned at Brittany who was glaring at her continuously. Anne spoke again, “And the silent ones are Crabbe and Goyle, respectively. Well, if you would please all direct your attentions to me, I would be very happy- I do not want to have to order any of Angel’s discipline plans. This year I really haven’t got much of a plan for this section before Christmas Break. After it we will be working on another theatre show, but for this semester I think I am just going to wing it like I did my first year here. I am thinking that we will be reading a little literature or something, maybe doing a little sport, whatever I happen to think of. Since I have nothing planned, go ahead and chat for a while, I have to go see what Severus left me a note on my door for.”

While Anne wandered down to the Lab, Severus was in the Great Hall talking to Minerva, “What if she refuses? What do I do then?” Minerva laid her hand on his shoulder, “She won’t- I see the way she looks at you. Don’t worry, everything will be fine and if she got the second note you left her, she should be wandering in here soon.” Severus and Minerva ducked out of the room by the door on the platform. He was fiddling with an object concealed in his pocket and was extremely nervous.

Anne entered the Great Hall to find only Hagrid sitting at the end of the Ravenclaw table fixing a net, “Did you see Severus go through here?” He nodded, “Sure- ‘e told me that if yeh came through t’ just wait fer him up by th’ Head Table.” Anne walked up to the platform and sat in her usual seat to wait. A few moments later, Severus entered from behind Anne with the encouragement of Minerva, “Lise- um…hello.” Anne turned to him and smiled. She stood up and waited for him to say more, “What? You left me that note and I came when you asked me to.” He nodded, “Yes, you, um, did. I- have something I…have to ask you.” She smiled softly, “Go on.” He drew the object from within his pocket and, hands shaking, opened it and held it out to her as he sunk to one knee, “Lisie…will you…marry me?” She gasped in delight, “Yes- of course!” She knelt down in front of him as he tried to grasp what was going on, “Really? I mean…you will?” She nodded as he very nervously slipped the little ring on her finger. She held it up to the light- it was a simple gold Celtic Trinity Knot whose edges blended into a thin gold band. She was beaming as he gathered her in his embrace. They pulled away and he rose, helping her up as they did. They stood close, and he bent in to kiss her as the door to the Great Hall flew open and Angel ran in with Jade, Jonas, and Draco behind. Anne and Severus stopped and smiled at one another, turning toward their family. Angel ran as fast as she could to Anne, “I AM GOING TO HAVE A DAD!” Anne laid her head on Severus’ shoulder for a brief moment before he had to move to catch Angel flying at them. He spun her around and then held her, “And I will have a daughter.” Jade and Jonas, Jade pulling Draco behind her, all reached the platform, “So,” Jade asked, “when are you announcing this to the school?” Severus shrugged, “How about we let you all herald the announcement?” Angel laughed, “It will be all over by noon tomorrow.” Severus set Angel down and turned to Anne. He gathered her in his arms and they shared a brief kiss. Anne thought her heart stopped again. Jade and Angel giggled, Draco smiled at Jade, and Jonas nodded in approval. 

The first thing that Anne did after she had left to get ready for dinner was to show Minerva the ring. Minerva smiled, “He did well, then?” “Oh Minerva, he was so nervous and his hands were shaking unbelievably, but he was so sweet.” Minerva laughed, “He was asking me for advice about how to propose before he did- he has been trying to figure out since he arrived here how he was going to ask you.” Anne smiled, “Well, I am glad that he finally got the guts to do it.” Minerva laughed, “Finally? You two have only known each other for two years!” Angel appeared from somewhere and piped up, “Yeah, but it is about time! Jade an’ me knew all along that they were going to end up together- I actually won another Sickle- Jade bet me that he would be too scared to propose and I took the challenge- looks like I’m on a roll, winning my last thee bets an’ all.” Anne shook her head, “Your last three- are there more?” Angel nodded, “Oh yeah, me an’ Draco got one going about stuff and me an’ Jonas have one about the wedding date. I am going to be the richest kid here if I keep this racket up.” Angel paused for a moment and then her face lit up, “OOH! I just thought of another one to make with Jade!” She scampered off. Anne began laughing, “You wouldn’t have thought that by age ten my child would be a compulsive gambler….” Minerva chuckled, “Well, as soon as you and Severus are established, I think her fodder for bets will subside considerably.”   
Anne shook her head, “No, by then she will be onto Jade and Draco bets and eventually Jonas will have a lady and she will bet on them too.”

The next day in Potions, Harry noticed a definite change in Professor Snape. He did not yell at anyone the entire time and did not snarl or scowl either. Harry thought that he was almost pleasant. He mentioned this to Hermione after class, “I wonder what is going on with Snape? He’s never been that tolerable in class!” Hermione nodded in agreement, “I know- even when that Hufflepuff kid’s cauldron blew up he was perfectly calm. I don’t get it.” Jade and Draco came from behind and flanked Harry and Hermione, “Jade and I might be able to offer a suitable answer to that question.” Harry and Hermione were puzzled and together asked, “What?” Jade looked to Draco, “Do you want me to tell or do you want to spread the word?” Draco grinned, “Do the honours, milady.” Jade’s eyes were gleaming with joy, “He’s engaged, that’s why he is so happy.” Harry and Hermione’s faces were struck with disbelief. Harry was the first to recover, “To Anne?” Jade nodded. Hermione shook her head, “Since when?” Draco took over, “Yesterday afternoon he proposed to her. Both of them are absolutely euphoric today.” Jade paused as Draco crossed behind the stunned pair and offered her his arm, “Off to spread the word in third year Transfiguration, milady?” Jade took his offer, “Sounds like fun….”

Upon reaching Minerva’s classroom, they discovered that Angel had beaten them there, “Well, Riddle and Malfoy, fancy seeing you here- how many have you hit this morning?” Jade counted on her fingers, “I think I am up to fifteen students, the last two being Harry and Hermione- you?” Angel shook her head, “Blast, I only have twelve- but I got Ron.” Minerva snuck up behind them, “And what would you three be doing hanging around my classroom before I begin?” Angel tried to look innocent, “We are racing to see who can tell the most people about Anne and Severus before the beginning of supper tonight- they said that we could spread the news, so we are. I’m three behind.” Minerva shook her head and made her way to her desk. Jade, Draco, and Angel slipped out of the room and in to the hall, “Angel, I don’t intend on losing my three Knuts.” Angel shot her a Cheshire Cat grin, “Me neither- and I don’t even have a partner.” Jade gave her a grin and shook her head, “Play fair, girl!” Angel scampered off and Draco ran to his next class, leaving Jade to scheme.

Jade arrived in the Great Hall for dinner and took her seat, scanning the crowd for Angel. Angel sat grinning smugly as Jade caught her eye. She signed up to Jade, “You?” Jade signed back, “I got sixty three.” Angel kept a perfect poker face as she signed back, “I got eighty five.” 

Anne sat down between Severus and Jade and knew immediately by the eyes that were on them that Jade and Angel had done their best to get the news all over the school. He took her hand and smiled, “So, how did your class go today, Lise?” She shrugged, “Pretty well, actually. We decided that since I had nothing planned that we would study American football and watch the games that I could manage to get in. Really, we are not doing much that is difficult at all. I am going to teach them the rules and perhaps put together a touch football team. I don’t dare teach tackle- someone would get killed. How was your day?” He shrugged, “We had a cauldron blow up, but Jade helped clean the mess and no one was injured. All together it was a fairly calm day.” Jade tapped Anne on the shoulder and Anne turned to her, “Yeah, babe?” “We told one hundred and forty-eight people today.” Anne shook her head, “Did you have a bet?”   
Jade shook her head, “No- this was actually a contest not a bet.” Anne sighed, “How much?” Jade grinned as Albus rose to make a few announcements, “Three Knuts.”

Albus clapped his hands, “Ladies and gentlemen, I am assuming that you have all heard the news concerning our Potions Master and our Theatre Director. If you have not, please turn to someone next to you and find out. In other news, we will be having various guests from the Ministry visiting our school over the next month or so. I know that some of you are not fond of this idea, but please show some respect to these people anyway. It will begin next week on Monday. We will not have classes on that day because the representative will be interviewing our staff. I have nothing else to announce, so please, let us have supper.”

Anne shook her head and glanced at Severus, and then at Jade, “I think Albus should get the three Knuts.”

Jade found herself surrendering three Knuts to Angel at the end of the meal, “I will win one of these one day, got that girlfriend? I will win!”

Wednesday, September third: Anne’s class met outside to begin to learn the rules for American football when the clouds split and they were drenched with a down-pouring of rain. Anne shouted over the deluge, “Inside quickly- but don’t leave the Entry Hall!” Everyone met her indoors, “O.K., we have to find a way to get you all upstairs to change without making a mess of the floor….” Filch rounded the corner, “Oh good God.” Anne nodded and walked to a mop closet near the door. She charmed the mops and set them to follow each student, telling them the counter for the charm, “Only undo the spell when you have deposited your wet clothes with the laundry, or you will end up mopping by hand. I want to see you all back here in ten minutes so we can put away the brooms and then head en masse to my classroom. I will also be heading off to change.” When they all re-congregated and disposed of their brooms, Anne led the pack to her classroom and they returned to their desks. Anne shook her head, “Seems that God didn’t want me teaching football today…oh, get out of the desks and sit on the floor- there are carpet squares, rag rugs, blankets, cushions and pillows back in the corners of the rooms- let’s get comfortable.” Anne dragged a green stadium blanket out from under her desk and a huge pillow. She set the blanket on the floor first, then bent the pillow and leaned it against her desk to form a cushioned seat, “O.K., since we are here, we might as well chat- anybody have a suggestion?” Brittany did, “Why are you marrying that slimy git anyway?” Anne shook her head, “One- he is not slimy, two, if I told you, you wouldn’t understand anyway.” Hermione furrowed her brow, “Would I?” Anne tilted her head, “Perhaps.” Ginny smiled, “Would I?” Anne nodded, “You know love- you would understand.” Jade grinned, “Well then, tell us so that she may hear it put in words.” Anne sighed, “There is only one reason, and that is because I love him. You may not understand why, but I don’t think either of us quite does either. Think about it- two people with hidden histories come to find that even though they seem quite opposites, that they have much to share and much to offer one another. No one can really explain why their bond goes beyond that connection, but it does- perhaps because of the mercy or pity of one of them, perhaps because they know they can help one another. It is a mystery, but it happens.” She turned to Ginny, then to Jade, “Did I get it right, girls?” Jade and Ginny nodded, both with a little blush. Brittany still did not understand, “What in the world is there that is positive about him? He isn’t even hot!” Anne gave a soft smile that seemed to make her face glow with light, “Brittany, some day you will understand that there is much more to a person than that which is outwardly visible. Most people have a soul that is multilayered- there are the top few layers that are accessible to all, and then there are the layers for friends, and then the layers for family- but deep within are the layers to be shared only with a lover so dear that they can help heal that which hurts deepest. If someone can truly love, it is on this they should be judged, if at all, not on that which is more readily available.” Jade, who was sitting behind Draco, had her hand on his back. Zack held Ginny’s hand and she laid her head on his shoulder. Anne smiled, “What else?” Neville raised his hand and she acknowledged him, “Anne, how was your summer?” Anne sighed, “At the beginning it was awful- I had Severus to take care of and then I learned that a dear friend of mine from Cambridge who had been like a second mother to me had died of brain cancer. I became terribly ill and her sister came to stay with us- she was a sweetheart and played the mum to me. Later, we discovered Jonas and his little sister on our porch- that was when things really started to get better. Holli’s family moved in down the lane and we went to their first barn dance. We went to Belfast, had a wonderful time there, and lastly we visited Britta and Rah at their new house. It turned out well, despite the awful beginning.” No one said anything for a while, “Oh, what the heck- just go off and do whatever- don’t forget to stash the pillows and all that stuff back in the corner.” 

On Sunday, Anne slipped out of her room to head to the kitchens to find Draco kissing Jade in the hall outside her room. She stood there with her hands on her hips until Draco noticed, pulled away from Jade, and turned bright red, “Oh…um…oops.” Jade too was blushing. Anne laughed, “Jade, you have your own room for a reason- just behave; we wouldn’t want to have to explain to Lucius how Draco ended up a father….” Jade shook her head, “Anne, I promise you that the most that will happen is kissing.” Anne nodded, “And I trust that you know your limits. I just have to do the mother thing.”

Monday, September eighth- the Ministry representative arrived to do staff interviews and observations and all classes were cancelled. Anne waited alone to be called, working diligently in her chamber at planning her classes for the semester. She had a sort of an idea what she would like to teach, but the actual order of things was left open so that she might change it on a whim. When she was called, she rose with grace and ascended the stairs to follow messenger to the classroom in which the interviews were taking place. Anne found herself outside of the Transfiguration classroom. She smiled ruefully, at least if she was to endure Ministry inquisition into her affairs it would be in a friendly room. She was shown in to face her interviewer. As the door clicked behind her, she froze, “Lucius Malfoy, what a _pleasure_.” she sneered. He gestured to a chair that had been pulled up in front of the desk, “Well, Miss Matthews, we meet again. I haven’t seen you sneer since back in the days of-” She cut him off, “I have no want to be here any longer than absolutely necessary, I have work to be doing. Get on to business and address me as Ms. Schetzek, it is the name I prefer.” “What you prefer is of no matter to me- since two years ago when I first discovered where you had fled to, I have recalled that you were once attached to a Mr. Jonathan Schetzek and I have also remembered that he met a quite unfortunate fate. I would hate to remind you of that with a name that was also his.” he said with a tone dripping in mockery. Anne kept her head about her, “Fine, call me what you will, but I am no longer what you knew me as and I will never be again. You have been sent here with a task, please stick to it.” Lucius shrugged, “As you wish. First: what are the goals you have for your class?” Anne smiled a little, “I wish to give my students a taste of another culture and to have a little fun while doing so.” He nodded, “And your methods are…?” She shrugged, “Whatever works- if I have to play rock music and dance on a desk, I will; if I have to produce a theatre production, I will; if I have to set up a sporting event, I will; and if I have to do things completely unconventionally and set off a few red flags, then I will. That is the way things are, and they will stay.” He nodded again and jotted something down on a tablet, “Are you prepared to leave here if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named arrives at Hogwarts?” She shook her head, “I will not run. I will stand and fight, as I have done in the face of all the foes I have faced in the past. I will not leave these kids without someone who has been there and done that if he comes here.” Lucius jotted something else down and nodded yet again, “Do you remember all the prospects that you turned down so many years ago?” Anne was once again on the defensive, “To which prospects are you referring?” Lucius leaned forward on the desk, “You remember what I offered you in the past.” She glared at him, “If you are suggesting reviving that offer, I will still deny you.” He raised an eyebrow, “You will still deny me? I am giving you the chance to be the consort to power- to me.” Anne rose indignantly, “I told you my answer when I was nineteen, that was nearly eight years ago, and I do not regret repeating it- I will not lower myself to being a whore to a Death Eater.” He glared at her with a gaze that would drive fear into the stoutest of hearts, “That accusation is one not to be taken lightly. You will not repeat it. You will also remember that you would not be a whore unless I paid you.” Anne conjured up a glare of her own, one that was nearly as frightening, “Lucius Malfoy, I will not ever concede to you and I will never recall that decision. I do not spread lies, Malfoy, and if one asks what you are, I will tell them straight.” “I could erase your record….” he said in a way of a deal. She did not waver, “I am engaged, thank you, nothing will make me dishonour my heart and I will no longer stand for this trash. Good riddance.” Anne turned and left, slamming the door behind her. Lucius settled back at the desk, “She hasn’t changed in the least…I wonder what keeps her from rejoining the Dark Lord….”

Anne fumed back to her chambers and slammed the door. Angel heard the door and looked to Jade who was sitting next to Draco and Hermione on the bed, Ron and Harry sprawled out on the floor with Angel, “I think that Mum’s interview must’ve not gone so well. I think I will stay here for a while.”

A few hours later, Severus came from his interview and went straight to dinner. Anne did not show up. He looked to Jade for an explanation, but she could only shrug. He knocked on Anne’s door after and was not well received, “Go away.” He spoke through the door, “Lise, its me, tell me what is wrong.” He did not get a response. Angel poked her head out of Jade’s room, “Mum won’t see me either- she told me to stay here tonight.” He turned to leave and Angel closed her door. Unfortunately, there was another face that he saw when he had fully turned around, and it was not one that he wanted to see, “Malfoy.” he spat. Lucius gave him a little smile that was not at all friendly, “That is the second time I have gotten that reaction today.” Severus jerked his head toward Anne’s door, “Are you the cause of her barricading herself in there?” Lucius shrugged, “There wasn’t anything that I said that was out of character. I did what I was sent to do and reinstated an old offer.” Severus sighed, “You made her the offer that Adelaide took, didn’t you?” Lucius’ smile broadened, “Ah, so you do know about your little sister’s hobbies. I am glad that you are not entirely blind.” Severus was impatient, “Just answer the question.” Lucius nodded and continued on his way, past Jadelyn’s room and deeper into the dungeons.

Deep in the bowels of Hogwarts, Lucius Malfoy met with a group of hooded young individuals, “I know that you are all risking expulsion in your meeting me, but I wanted to know that there are those still loyal to the house of Salazar Slytherin, unlike that treacherous whelp of a girl Riddle. I am glad to see that so many of you have decided to join with the Dark Lord and carry out the glorious work that his forefather and founder of our great house left for us. Now, where is my son?” The figures looked around at each other, trying to see if the could find Draco. No one did, “Draco- you had better show yourself!” No answer came, “Everyone, take down your hoods! All of you!” They did, but Draco was nowhere to be found. Lucius was furious, “We will meet again later- go back to your beds. I have to find my son.” A figure hiding in the shadows slipped out before anyone noticed and slid back to the upper section of the dungeons and knocked at the door next to Anne’s. Angel opened the door and the figure removed their hood, “Ang, we have a little bit of a problem.” Jadelyn said as she entered her room. “Jade, what did you find out?” Jade pulled her hair from under her druid’s cloak, the bell sleeves floating around her as she shook her head and let her hair do what it would, “Well, I found out that you telling Draco not to leave here tonight was a very good idea- Lucius held a meeting of the Death Eater youth down in the middle of nowhere. He was absolutely furious not to find Draco there.” Draco, who had been lying on the bed, sat up, “I told you he wouldn’t be happy that I chose not to attend his little recruitment session. What is he doing about it?” Jade made sure her door was locked, “He’s hunting for you.” 

No one in the room slept that night. Angel was too afraid of Lucius to get more than a few hours of sleep at a time, no matter how close she curled to Jade. Draco sat up waiting all night, as did Jade, both of them fearing that an any moment they would see the lock open and the door would swing in, both of them facing Lucius’ wrath. The morning came and nothing had happened. Jade and Draco were both so exhausted that Jade fell asleep in Severus’ office while grading papers and Draco fell asleep in every class. Angel curled up on Anne’s couch and fell asleep early in the morning.

Anne met her class in their room and then they all made their way outside to learn about American Football. The class went fairly quickly and everyone went inside wondering how such a complicated sport ended up so popular. Anne returned to her classroom to retrieve some papers and found Severus sitting at her desk, “Lise, we need to talk.” She smiled and nodded, “About what?” He sighed, “Did Lucius ask you to be his?” Anne’s smile faded, “Yes.” He looked to her, “What did you tell him?” She held herself tall, “I told him the same thing I told him nearly nine years ago- no. I told him that I was engaged and could not dishonour my heart and I told him I would not lower myself to being the whore of a Death Eater.” He rose and stood in front of her, “Why did you lock yourself in your room last nigh then?” She grinned and stepped closer to him, “I did not wish him to find me. Do you suspect that I am unfaithful to you?” He shook his head, “No.” She shrugged and quickly kissed the tip of his nose, “Then there is nothing to be worried about.” His seriousness began to fade with her playful gesture, “Lise, the one feature that I cannot stand, my nose, and it is what you just gave attention to- what is it with you?” She shrugged, “I, unlike some, am not swayed by a head of perfect pretty blonde hair or power- I only want love, and one who is loved is beautiful to their lover.” He offered her his arm, “Well, with that, let us go to the dungeons- I believe your daughter is sleeping there.” Anne laughed, “That she is. On a similar subject, did Draco fall asleep in your class? We were outside today and he dozed off on the sidelines.” Severus nodded, “Yes- and Jade is asleep in my office. I wonder what those three were doing last night?”

Anne continued teaching her American football unit for the rest of the week. Lucius stepped outside to observe her class on Friday, so Anne decided to have a little fun, “O.K., we are going to play a little flag football today- sorry, no tackle. I want you to divide up and decide on a quarterback and a centre for each team. Everyone else figure out where you need to be after that is decided. Jade and Angel will be officials and I will be the head referee. I see that our teams have been chosen. Harry, Draco, Zack, Ron, Hermione, and Neville- do you have a team name, a centre, and a quarterback for me?” Draco spoke up, “We are the ‘Raving Lunatics’, our centre is me and our quarterback is Hermione.” Anne nodded, “Good- Crabbe, Goyle, Brittany, Elenore, Susan, and Ginny- name, centre, quarterback?” Brittany strode in front of Ginny, who was about to speak, and said her piece very haughtily, “We are the ‘Arse Kickers’, our centre is Crabbe, and our quarterback is Goyle.” With a little flip of her hair she proudly waited for Anne’s response. It came, thought with an edge of sarcasm, “Nice name. Everyone take positions- Ginny, call heads or tails for the tossup to gain possession of the ball.” Ginny called tails and that was how the American quarter that Anne had pulled from her skirt landed. It was one of the few times that game that the ‘Arse Kickers’ ever had possession of the ball. They were trampled by the ‘Raving Lunatics’ because Crabbe and Goyle never did what was logical and despite all of Ginny’s yelling for them to actually use a play- _any play-_ that Anne had taught them they lost the game, played at full length, fifty-eight to zero. Ginny grumbled as her team put away their equipment- Anne heard her and smiled, “Don’t worry- some folks just aren’t cut out for this sort of game, what with the organized plays and all. It doesn’t matter for your grade, don’t worry about it.” Ginny smiled half-heartedly and Anne grinned as she whispered, “Anyway, check out the look on Lucius’ face- it makes the whole fiasco worth having.” Lucius was furious as his son and his team all tackled each other in a mass of arms and legs, cheering and hugging. Harry was a bit surprised at Draco being so happy, so free from what he had been- it had been hard not to notice the change that Draco had gone through after Christmas last year and how he had grown up so greatly, but this was the first time that he extended his hand to Harry, “Great game, mate- what you say about ending the feud? We’ve been rather civil to each other this past year thanks to Jadelyn’s influence on me, so why not drop it entirely?” Harry was stunned as Ron, Hermione, and Neville all paused in their revelling to hear Harry’s response, “Ah, what the hell!” He accepted the handshake and both boys laughed. Zack hugged Ron enthusiastically and Hermione danced with Neville. Everyone was very happy- except Lucius Malfoy. Having just watched his son shake hands with his nemesis, he was in no mood to be pleasant. He strode up to the crowd, into which Ginny, Jade, Angel, Elenore, and Susan had since plunged, all of them celebrating the end of the Draco/Harry drama. Brittany, Crabbe, and Goyle all stood off to the side and watched in contempt. Lucius glared at the dancing, teeming mass of students and found his son. He wrenched Draco free from the revellers and threw him to the ground, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TOSS ASIDE THE PLANS WE HAVE FOR YOU LIKE THAT!” Draco rubbed his neck and winced, “I am not what you think I am.” Lucius’ anger grew as the other students all turned to watch whatever was unfolding. Anne had abandoned her quest to put away all the equipment and walked quickly to the site as Lucius lit into Draco again, “YOU ARE WHAT I WILL TELL YOU TO BE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? YOU WILL NOT CHALLENGE ME!” Draco pulled himself up and stood in front of his father, “You see, that is where you are wrong, I will be what my soul guides me to be and if my individuality is a challenge to you, then yes, I will.” Jade watched the scene with daggers in her glare- she was ready to slice Lucius with her gaze and to pierce through him with her words. Anne placed a restraining hand on Jade’s shoulder as Lucius started yelling again, “YOU HAVE NO CHOICE, YOU ARE MY SON AND WILL DO AS I SAY, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!” Draco sighed, “I am also Narcissa Black’s son, and frankly speaking, I would rather that you say that than call me your son. Disown me if you want, but that would be a blessing.” Lucius slapped Draco, “SHUT YOUR MOUTH, BOY! NARCISSA IS NOTHING- DO YOU HEAR THAT? NOTHING! YOU HAVE MY NAME, IT IS TO ME YOU WILL RESPOND!” Draco shook his head, having remained completely calm the entire time and was maintaining it very well, “No.” Lucius took his walking stick and struck Draco with the end having a silver serpent head attached, causing a line of blood to spring from Draco’s cheek, the fang of the serpent catching on his skin and tearing it open. He only flinched slightly, as though her were used to this kind of treatment, “Draco, you will think about everything you have said today and you will recant all you have professed. The Riddle girl is a whore, like her mother, and wants you only for what she can get for herself. You must realize this by now.” Draco’s face was hardened with a stony resolve, “You will not speak of my lady in such a manner.” Lucius’ eyes widened, “Your WHAT?” Draco repeated himself, “My lady.” Lucius raised his walking stick to strike at Draco again as Anne quietly spoke and extended her hand, “Come.” His walking stick slipped from his hand and into hers, “Give that back.” he said with a glare. Anne shrugged, “If you are going to hit him again, no. The man has enough on his mind without you acting like a spoiled brat who can’t have his way.” Lucius was not satisfied, “I will not hesitate to be harsh with you, Ms. Schetzek.” She snorted, “You wouldn’t dare- if you did, _I_ would not hesitate to use the skills that I best possess in defence- and you know that my wand is not needed for those.” “You wouldn’t dare.” She nodded slowly, “I presume that by that you remember what my specialities are.” He shook his head in exasperation and backed away from Draco, “Just give me the damn thing.” She tossed it to him as he made one last threat to Draco, “Think about you choice; a day will come when your loyalties will be tested.” Anne smiled as Draco stood tall, “I will await that day in earnest.” Lucius turned on his heels and strode away to the school. Jade went to fix Draco’s cheek while Anne watched him enter the building, “I think that my review this week is going to be disastrous, but hell, I don’t really give a damn.” She turned to Draco as Jade muttered something and his cheek healed itself and the blood vanished that had trickled down to his chin, “Are you going to be alright?” Draco nodded, “Yeah.” Anne inspected Jade’s work, “Good. You know, when he finally gets up and takes action on all the threats he’s made, we are going to have our work cut out for us.” He nodded again, “Yeah, and he will have to kill me six hundred times over at least and do other horrible things to me around five times that.” Jade shook her head, “I am going to kick his ass some day.”

That night at dinner, Anne made a short announcement, “As some of you know and some of you don’t, my class has been studying American football for the last week. I have been able to set up my computer and rig it to my big-screen television so that we can watch the Michigan State University games at odd hours of the day on Saturdays. Now, we missed the Rutgers game last week, but tomorrow is the Louisiana Tech game and I will be showing it in my classroom. Please check my door for time posting and a schedule of all the games that we will be able to watch. All are welcome to come and scream for the team of your choice, though I will greatly advocate cheering for Michigan State, seeing as they represent the college I would have attended had I not come to Cambridge.” She sat down, Albus said a little bit on why the hallways near Myrtle’s bathroom had flooded again, and dinner began.

MSU beat Louisiana Tech by three touchdowns on Saturday and Anne was seen wearing a green dress much like her everyday black one, but this one having a little white ‘S’ stitched into the hem on the left side.

Sunday was the first game of the Quiddich season. Hufflepuff was to play Ravenclaw and the staff had a poll going on the score. Very few people seemed enthusiastically convinced that Hufflepuff was going to win the game other than Professor Sprout who pulled for her house no matter how impossible the odds were against them. Sure enough, Hufflepuff lost and Professor McGonagall won the poll.

Monday, September fifteenth brought another Ministry guest. This person did not interview each staff member during class hours, rather took them aside after observation and spoke to them a little. Severus met Anne for lunch, “Have you seen who has come to torment us this week?” Anne shrugged, “No, I have been sitting in my room sewing a few more inches onto Angel’s black robes- she is growing like a bloody weed.” Severus chuckled, “I know- she told me she grew an entire inch in the span of two months.” Anne smiled as they took their seats- at least he was in a good mood today- hopefully whoever the interviewer would not spoil this.

Anne unlocked her classroom and laid a four foot long roll of tattered cloth down on her desk. She very gently unrolled it and lay out her fencing blades. A knock came on the door and a familiar red head peeked in, “I am a bit early- do you mind if I come in?” Anne shook her head, “Mr. Weasley! What a pleasant surprise, having you as our guest this week!” He smiled and entered carrying a few thin books and his notepad, “I heard from Albus that last week was none too kind.” Anne laughed, “He puts it mildly- I would describe it as a flashback to hell.” She gestured to her desk, “Feel free to use what space you can find on here or just move the chair and I can move the phonograph and you can use its little table.” He settled in behind the desk and found a corner of space to set his things, “This will do fine. I have a question that I am not sure if I should ask.” She shrugged, “There are no questions that I will not answer to the best of my ability.” He nodded, “Are you engaged to Professor Snape, and if the rumours are true, are you sure you know what you are getting into? He has a past that is not something that most people would ever want to have anything to do with.” Anne laughed lightly, “Yes, that rumour is true- we are still deliberating on a wedding date- we will be sure to send you an invitation when we do, and yes, I do know what I am getting into. He and I have been sharing our pasts with one another through the last few years, helping one another to cope with what we confess. I do not mind what I see- my own past is fairly awful too- thought I know that he has endured more than I and done more than I since he has lived longer than I. To love, the past is irrelevant and as long as it is repented it can be embraced as where one has come from, no matter how horrid that place may be.” Mr. Weasley smiled, “You have given this thought- good, you are very wise, Ms. Schetzek, and I respect you for that. I see why you are such a well thought of teacher- you teach lessons from your heart as well as lessons for your class.”

She sighed, “Thank you. It is nice to hear someone from the Ministry who is encouraging rather than discouraging- I have to say, the few encounters I have had with them have not been terribly happy and from what Severus has said or failed to say, he hasn’t had much luck with them either.” Mr. Weasley shrugged, “I guess it all comes down to what you were encountering them for and who you ended up faced with. Snape had to stand in front of the full court and frankly speaking, if I had to do that, no matter what for, I would not think well of the Ministry either.” Anne nodded, “I would have to agree- I really do wonder why they did not have me stand trial, I mean, I lived in a house with at least ten other Death Eaters for so long that you would think me steeped in it.” He smiled, “I think Albus pulled a few strings there- Fudge may not like him, but he does still have influence. He knew that you were already a bit shaken and I personally believe that he did not want you to be any more afraid of your future than you already were at that time.” She moved toward the door to open it for her students, “You may be right- heaven only knows how I would have reacted.”

The classroom was quickly filled and Anne took attendance, “Great- everyone is here. That will make this class a whole lot easier. We are beginning a new unit today- everyone pay close attention, because we will be having a quiz at the end of the hour to see what all you absorbed.” She turned around to look at the wall over her desk. Pulling an empty desk against it, she climbed up and called to Jade, “Come here, I will need you to hold a few things.” Jade did as she was asked and Anne handed her the broadswords that had been hanging on the wall. She then passed down the rapier and dagger set and the sabre, all having been purchased in London. After that she handed Jade a scimitar, a samurai sword, and a sword that, to Jade, looked like it had been taken straight from a Musketeer movie. Jade leaned all the blades against the desk and offered Anne a hand on the way down. Jade pulled the desk back to where it belonged and Anne selected the two handed broadsword, “Today we are going to begin our fencing unit and the best way I can see to do that is to first look at the history of the blades we will be using. Please make sure you can all see, because I will be showing you a few movements with these also.” Angel clamoured up on Jade’s desk as Anne played with the sword.

After class, Mr. Weasley helped Anne replace all the blades on the wall, “How are you going to teach them fencing when you don’t have enough blades for all of them?” She shrugged, “We will practice with weighted rods, but for actual bouts, Jade and I each have a set of three competitive blades, so we can have one bout of sabre, epée, and foil happening at once. I have already started to think about which squads they will be in- who will use what blade- and tomorrow we will begin footwork. I am hoping to be able to determine squad assignments by Wednesday.” He was impressed, “You have apparently done this before?” Anne nodded, “My friends and I formed a fencing team in high school back in the States and we taught the middle school students a little bit of the art. We were all pretty good at it by the time we all went off to college and when I got here I started training with the Cambridge team.” He nodded, “May I observe your class for the rest of the week? I would like to see how this progresses.” She hung the sabre on the wall, “Sure- we will be doing squad work for the rest of this week- no one will be very good at it, and on Friday I am thinking of having a little exhibition at the beginning of class so the kids can see their coaches have at it. Next week each of the squads will have a day where they will all fence each other, and after a day of practice we will then show off to the school, closing the unit with a party on Saturday.” Mr. Weasley offered her a hand to help her down and she accepted, proceeding to move the desk she had been using as a stepping stool back to where it belonged. She rewrapped her competitive swords and carried them back to her chamber, Mr. Weasley parting from her to go and make his daily report and to have a little chat with Albus. 

Anne entered her room to find Severus stretched out on her couch. She set the blades on the table as he watched her enter and followed her with his eyes to the table. She turned to him and, with a little grin and her hands on her hips, addressed him, “What are you doing on my couch?” He did not bother to sit up as he said, “Because I felt ill and did not wish to trek all the way up to Slytherin house- your room was closer and since we are to be wed, I considered that the room was as open to me as mine own.” She pulled a chair beside him and felt for his temperature, “ _Kein Fieber_ \- what are your symptoms?” He sighed, “My limbs all ache, my head is throbbing, I feel clammy, and I feel leaden- like I should no longer move. Light hurts my eyes and my ears forbid loud noises. All I want to do is sleep. _Ich fühle mich nicht wohl_. Don’t make me move.” He started coughing rather violently and was compelled to sit up. Anne rubbed his back- she knew the sound of that cough and did not like it in the least bit. When it had subsided, his eyes were watering and his breathing was ragged. He looked slightly paler than usual, “Severus, go sit at the table so I can fold the couch out.” He did as he was told moving rather slowly. She quickly unfolded the couch-bed and helped him to remove his robes, outer shirt, and shoes. She set them on the table and aided him into bed. She tucked the covers in around him, “Stay still, relax, don’t think about anything- just get some rest.” She kissed his forehead and then hung his clothing over a chair and set his shoes upon the seat. She pushed the chair against the wall by the head of the couch bed and turned out all but the torches that were on either side of her hammock, “In case Angel comes in and needs to see her way around the room.” He sighed as she left the room, “I’ll be right back, dear, I’ll be right back.”

Anne hurried up to the Hospital wing and sought out Poppy. Thankfully she was not hard to find- she was treating a first year Ravenclaw who had attempted to make a potion to clear her throat and had ended up turning green instead. Anne waited for Poppy to finish. When she did, she turned to Anne, “What can I do for you, dear?” Anne sighed, “Severus is ill- he crashed on my couch. He told me essentially that all his limbs hurt, along with his head, and that he felt clammy. He said that all he wanted to do was sleep and that he felt leaden. Loud noises hurt his ears and bright light hurts his eyes. He doesn’t seem to have a fever. His cough is awful- the last time that I heard a cough like that was when Angel came down with pneumonia while we were staying in the church in Lancashire. I fear that with the rest of his symptoms that Severus may be coming down with it- I mean, it wouldn’t be all that unlikely. The dungeons are dark and damp, he overworks himself, and he is not exactly that conscientious about when he gets a cold or something- he just plods right through it without giving it much notice.” Poppy noticed the look of worry that crossed Anne’s face and smiled comfortingly, “I have just the thing to bring him ‘round if he indeed has pneumonia- he will have to stay in bed for a few days, but it won’t be like being a Muggle and having it for weeks on end.” Anne nodded, “Thank you- I am going to go and sit with him for a while- as soon as you can see him, I will bring him up.” Poppy scoffed, “Why the devil would you do that? I will be down in around an hour to check out his troubles.” Anne thanked her profusely and returned to her chambers to find Severus fast asleep. Poppy arrived as she had said, an hour later, to find Severus still asleep. Anne hated to have to wake him, but she did, “Wha…? Lise?” She helped him to sit up, “Poppy’s here to see what is wrong with you. Just stay awake for a little while.” Poppy made quick with her work, “Deep breaths…” he took a few and started coughing uncontrollably. Anne kept him sitting up while his body wracked with the strain from his coughing fit. Poppy sighed as his coughing began to subside, “You sound awful. Here, let me take your temperature quick.” She did as he leaned on Anne’s shoulder, trying desperately to keep awake. Poppy looked at the reading, “Not to terribly bad, but not that great either- you are up to thirty-eight point five to my reading- you need your rest, yes, but drink this first.” He took the flask Poppy offered and nearly dropped it, but Anne steadied his hand and guided it to his mouth. He finished the draught and let Anne hand the flask back to Poppy, sliding back onto his pillow and quickly falling back asleep. Anne smiled as his body settled into the mattress. Poppy nodded to Anne, “He is fairly ill, but he should be out of bed on Wednesday and he should be able to do things with caution by Friday.” Anne sighed, “He was going to help with fencing on Friday- I guess we will just have to see how he fares. Jade can teach his classes tomorrow and she can sit with him while I teach. We will see about Wednesday.” Poppy nodded, “Just take it one day at a time.” Anne nodded, “I always do.”

Tuesday, Anne awoke to find Severus still sleeping and Angel lying on the table colouring something. Angel sat up as her mother gathered her clothing and her toiletries basket to trek to the shower, “Mum, will Dad be alright?” Anne nodded, “Yes, Severus will be fine- he just needs to rest all of today and he might be able to get out of bed tomorrow.” “Wow- that is a lot faster than Muggle pneumonia. Wizards have some powerful medicines!” Angel said. Anne smiled and gently shushed her child, “Stay quiet love- much of healing is rest.” she tousled Angel’s hair and left the room. Later she returned, watching Severus the entire day. He woke sometime around noon, but did not feel like eating, though he confessed that he was not half as sore and he could breathe a bit better. Jade came in to sit with him while Anne went to her class and she began to tell her uncle all about her experiences in class that day.

Anne found many of her students already waiting for her by her classroom. She gestured to them and called out, “Everyone head on down to the Entry Hall- we will be practicing in the foyer where there is plenty of room.” She pinned a note for all late arrivals to meet her there and was joined once again by Arthur Weasley, “Ms. Schetzek- I am very intrigued by this method that you are using- rather than merely studying the sport, you are actually having the students participate- where did you pick this up?” She shrugged, “I always found it more interesting when my teachers encouraged us to go and do something hands-on, and the students here tend to appreciate it more when teachers encourage doing- it shows that the teacher trusts the student enough to let them experiment with their style and skill.” He nodded, “Sounds reasonable- what are you doing today?” She smiled, “You will find out the same as the rest of them.”

After taking roll, Anne had all of her students form a line across from her and she began teaching them the basic footwork for use with any of the blades. They practiced advances and retreats along with front and back crossovers. At the end of class, many of the students were complaining of back pain from standing so straight or pains through their legs after finding out that they did not use their muscles as well as they thought they did. She had them all sit in a circle on the floor, “You all are learning this so quickly- you are picking up on the skills I am teaching you remarkably well and I am proud of you all. I have decided to divide you up into weapons’ squads today so that you might be able to practice with your squad tomorrow. Fencing foil will be Neville, Crabbe, Goyle, and Brittany. I will be coaching your squad. Fencing epée will be Ron, Hermione, Elenore, and Susan. Angel will be your coach. Fencing sabre will be Harry, Ginny, Draco and Zack. Jade will be coaching the sabres. If you discover that you hate the weapon that we placed you with, we will try to switch you to a different squad. All three of us who are coaching have fenced with all three weapons, so all of us can answer questions that you may have over the next two weeks. It will not be easy on your body, you will feel pain. We will not be able to give you real weapons until the bouts, considering we only have two sets of weapons- mine and Jade’s- and will be using those for the actual matches and for practice rounds. Go and rest a while before supper, shower and change if you want, and get some rest tonight. Tomorrow will be another hard day.”

Anne returned to her chambers after a brief chat with Mr. Weasley to find Severus sitting at the table with Jade and Angel. He invited her to sit with them, “Hello, Lise! Have a cup of tea with us?” Anne sat down beside him, “Poppy said that it would be tomorrow when you would get out of bed.” He shrugged, “I really don’t feel too terrible.” She shook her head, “Alright, but as soon as you are done with tea, you are getting back in bed- I want you to be feeling well fast, so you will have to get your rest.” He nodded, “Yes, Lise- I am hoping to be able to teach again tomorrow, but Jade has insisted that she teach and I observe her methods instead. I believe I will take her advice.” Angel finished her tea and served Anne, handing her the Michigan State mug and the box of tea, “Here Mum, how was your day?” Anne smiled and took the mug and box from Angel, “It was fine. We were working on footwork today and I think that everyone is going to ache tomorrow. I also divided up the squads based on what I saw and how each of the students behaves. Jade, you are going to be our sabre coach. Your squad consists of Harry, Ginny, Draco and Zack.” Jade grinned, “Oh, this will be so much fun- I am going to kick Draco’s butt so bad….” Anne shook her head, “Be careful, dear, your whole point is not to beat your boyfriend to the dust. Anyway, Angel, you are very good at Epée, so you will be coaching them. Your squad is Ron, Hermione, Elenore, and Susan.” Angel plopped back in her chair, “Cool, I got a good group.” Anne went on, “I will be teaching the foils- it is the slowest of all the weapons and I have a hard group to coach, Neville, Crabbe, Goyle, and Brittany. I think Neville will be fine, but the other three just don’t have patience to fence.” Severus took her hand, “Well I think you will be just fine- Crabbe and Goyle may not be the brightest, but they are not usually troublesome toward you and they at least will try if they have to. I think they will also give a little effort because they won’t want to be beaten by Brittany or Neville- Brittany because she is a little girl and Neville because he is a Gryffindor and the fodder for most of their jokes.” Anne laughed, “Yeah, and they know that I could really cause them pain if they bout me and they had been wicked earlier. No mercy!” After everyone had finished their tea, Jade and Angel went to the Great Hall for dinner and Anne stayed with Severus, making a pasta salad in the kitchens quickly before they settled in for supper. He confessed that he was indeed feeling quite a bit better and that he had let his illness get a little too far before he had bothered to take care of himself. She told him to never mind that, just not to let it happen again. They talked about classes and such until Angel came back and they all readied themselves for bed. Angel gave them both a kiss before climbing into the loft, Severus fell into the couch bed, and Anne tossed herself into her hammock. All three of them were soundly sleeping within the hour.

Before that hour was up, they each had their thoughts to occupy them. Angel fiddled with the edge of her blankets,

_I am going to have a daddy- I hope he gets better soon and I hope they figure out when they are going to get married, they are so perfect together. I wonder what will change when they are married. I wonder if Draco will win the bet about ‘stuff’- about when Mum will get pregnant by him. They have to have kids, and I hope that when I do have a little sibling that Mum and I are still as close and Jade still hangs around. I wonder when Draco will finally propose to Jade- I know he will; ‘Nessa has been giving me hints for the last three weeks…._

She drifted off into sleep.

Severus’ mind really wasn’t on much of anything,

_Life is so confusing some days. I hope that I can still help in Lisie’s class on Friday, it will be fun. I wonder if there is anything that would ever come between us. I hope that Lucius stays out of our life for the rest of time, he just causes trouble…._

He fell asleep quickly.

Anne, however, did not think more than one phrase,

_Goodnight, loves…._

She dropped off to sleep quickly.

On Wednesday and Thursday the squads broke off and worked with their coaches, trying to fit as much training as they could into the few days that they had. On Friday, September nineteenth, the squads began practicing bouts within one another. At the end of the class period, Severus slipped in the room and found Anne with the foils, “You had mentioned doing something a little different today?” She smiled, “You are feeling up to it?” He nodded and Anne called all of her students to gather around, “Hey all! Gather ‘round- we are going to have a little match between some of your instructors.” A mutter ran through her sweaty students and they seemed very glad to quit early. Anne walked over to a fencing strip she had taped out. She watched Severus chose his blade, “Lise- how are you as a sabre fencer?” Anne grinned as Jade tossed her blade over, “It is my favourite. You?” He nodded, “It is my best.” They took their places and began to fence, neither of them scoring against the other, Jade officiating the match. After a short while, an attack from Anne to Severus’ head was not blocked, and as he retreated she caught his hand. He cursed and dropped his blade. Anne stopped, “Oh God- are you alright Severus? I am so sorry….” Angel made a suggestion, “Why don’t you have Mum kiss it and make it all better?” Severus shook his injured hand and winced, noticing though that it was not bleeding, rather bruising quickly. He shot a glance at Anne, who came and kissed his knuckles where her sword had struck him. In an instant he whisked his other hand around her and brought her into a low dip where he kissed her full on the lips and then brought her up to standing. He shot Angel a grin and promptly left the room. No one spoke for a moment. Anne sighed, “Well…I didn’t see that coming. Class dismissed.”

On Saturday, Michigan State played Notre Dame and won by a field goal. It was a wonderful game. Sunday brought another good match- Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. The game was tied nearly every minute. Zack and Harry simultaneously spied the Snitch and both went into daredevil dives to try to retrieve it. By a stroke of luck, Harry’s broom caught on the Ravenclaw banner and he lost a few seconds time, enough for Zack to win the game. After the game, Anne said goodbye to Mr. Weasley and prepared for her next week of classes- each of the squads would be having a day so that all their members could fight one another.

On Monday, Anne met the newest Ministry guest. There was a woman around her age with highlighted light brown hair, freckles, tawny eyes, a slender yet powerful frame, wearing blue jeans and an Aerosmith tank top. She extended her hand to Anne, “Alabama Cray, odd jobber at the Ministry. Yes, my parents named me after a state.” Anne shook her hand, “You’re an American!” Alabama grinned, “Yeah, we are few and far between outside of the States- hell, there aren’t that many of us in the States. You get lucky if you find more than two in a city or five in the average state. New York, California, and Texas don’t count.” Anne unlocked the door to her classroom and retrieved the fencing gear before relocking it and heading to the Great Hall with Alabama, “I knew two others in my town and a squib transfer student. Her parents were from Detroit and she had moved in with her grandfather to help him out a bit. When I graduated, one of the girls who I met during a college visit was also from my town and I discovered there that Kat, that was her name, was also a wizard.” Alabama opened the door to the Great Hall for Anne, “Damn, girl, where are you from?” Anne stepped in the room and thanked Alabama, “Hell.” Alabama nodded, “That explains a lot.” Anne dumped the weapons on the table, “In Michigan.” Alabama grinned, “I know.”

That day was the foil competition. Anne kept a scorecard and marked all the matches in their order on it and who won, then tallying the wins for each squad member.

Neville *

| 

Crabbe  
  
---|---  
  
Brittany

| 

Anne *  
  
Neville *

| 

Goyle  
  
Crabbe

| 

Anne *  
  
Goyle *

| 

Brittany  
  
Neville *

| 

Anne  
  
Crabbe *

| 

Goyle  
  
Neville *

| 

Brittany  
  
Goyle

| 

Anne *  
  
Crabbe *

| 

Brittany ft  
  
This resulted in a tally sheet that Anne posted on her door:

Neville |||

Crabbe ||

Goyle |

Brittany __

The next day was designated to Epée in a similar fashion.

Susan

| 

Angel *  
  
---|---  
  
Ron *

| 

Hermione  
  
Elenore*

| 

Susan  
  
Hermione

| 

Angel *  
  
Ron *

| 

Elenore  
  
Hermione *

| 

Susan  
  
Elenore

| 

Angel *  
  
Ron *

| 

Susan  
  
Hermione *

| 

Elenore  
  
Ron

| 

Angel *  
  
Anne once again made a score sheet and posted it on her door:

Ron: |||

Hermione: ||

Elenore: |

Susan: __

On Wednesday it was the sabre squad’s turn to go through the same tasks.

Jade *

| 

Zack  
  
---|---  
  
Ginny *

| 

Draco  
  
Harry *

| 

Zack  
  
Draco

| 

Jade *  
  
Harry

| 

Ginny*  
  
Draco *

| 

Zack  
  
Harry

| 

Jade *  
  
Ginny *

| 

Zack  
  
Harry *

| 

Draco  
  
Ginny

| 

Jade *  
  
The results were once again posted on Anne’s door:

Ginny: |||

Harry: ||

Draco: |

Zack: __

On Thursday, Anne had all her students practicing- they were going to have an exhibition before dinner for the leading students to once again fence their coaches, but during Friday’s class time they were going to be fencing for their friends- whoever they wanted to see fence each other within the squads they would get to see.

The class time went fine and everyone fought very well. Ginny, Ron, and Neville were all very nervous about their displays for the school. Anne did her best to give them all a bit of comfort, “Hey, at least none of you have a fiancé watching. That is pressure, right there.” Ginny laughed, but Ron and Neville were both still nervous. First Angel and Ron fenced foil, Angel’s speed and agility beating Ron only by one point. Ginny fenced Jade second and nearly beat her, but Jade came back strong and won by two. Anne and Neville both took their spaces, both visibly nervous. They fenced well, but Anne nearly dropped her blade late in the match, allowing Neville to score against her. She was still a bit flustered and missed a parry, causing Neville to score again. Anne recovered and fought her way back to tie, and then to lead by two. Somehow Neville caught up to her and they were tied on the game point. Both of them were determined to win, and both of them fenced with such deliberation that it was uncertain who would score. Finally, Anne caught Neville off guard for a hair of a second and she took the win. They shook hands and left their performance area, “Neville, you are good at this, I haven’t faced a foil challenge that good since back in the days of ‘Hell’s Fencers’. Keep it up, kid.”

On Saturday, Alabama joined the fencers for a celebration and to watch the Louisiana vs. Michigan State game and once again MSU won after a well played game with no mercy. 

The Hufflepuff against Slytherin game turned out as everyone expected and Slytherin whomped Hufflepuff in a very short game.

The next week brought another guest from the Ministry, this one Amos Diggory. He spoke with her once before her class, but did not sit in to any of them. Anne began her week with an introduction, “Well, I have to say that our last unit was a bit of a difficult one, so I think that we will tame it down a bit for this week. We will be playing card games and calling it school. Today I want you all to brainstorm a list of all the games you can play with a standard four suit deck and place your lists on my desk. Tomorrow I will start teaching.”

Tuesday, Anne taught poker. Most of her students understood it fairly well and she discovered that Brittany was trying to win a bracelet from Jade, but Jade was just too good at the game to allow Brittany even a hope, “Gwyn, I may not have grown up in a household where I actually spoke to my mother, but I did learn a lot from my grandfather, and how to be a first rate card shark was one of the things he taught me.” Brittany gave up and went to try to con something off of Angel. She failed at this too, “Come on, you are placing a bet against a Celt? How stupid are you?” Brittany went to sulk in a corner.

On Wednesday, which was also October first, Anne taught blackjack to her students. She found that this was considerably easier than poker and Brittany still failed to win anything from either Jade or Angel.

Anne taught a fairly difficult game on Thursday: hearts. Hardly anyone understood what she was talking about until she sat down with Jade, Angel, and Draco and they played a hand out so that the students could figure out what cards stood for what and what the purpose of the Queen of Spades was.

Friday, however, was Anne’s favourite day. She was teaching Euchre. She began to explain the game and gave up early, “Angel, go fetch your future father- he knows how to play this.” Angel ran to find Severus and they returned in a few moments, “If you had trouble with hearts, this is going to confuse you beyond all things when I try to explain it. So, first we partner up so we have two teams of two.” Severus sat across from Anne and Angel partnered with Jade, “Then what we are going to do is just talk our way through a hand. It may seem confusing at first, but in time you will catch on.” They began to play, talking out their moves. After playing four games, Anne let the class divide up and she, Jade, Angel, and Severus drifted around the room helping out when they were needed. Most everyone at least understood the concept of the game, and if they did not, they drifted by on the coat tails of their team mates. The class ended and Jade made an announcement, “We, meaning Angel and I, have decided to start a Euchre Cult that will meet every Saturday, regardless if there is a football game or not, and we will play until our eyes hurt or we get bored, whichever comes first.”

Saturday, the Euchre Cult and the football fans discovered that Anne’s room had been decorated entirely in green and white, “MSU’s homecoming is today- we play Indiana and this room is going to be spirited!” It was- from the barbecue that sat in the hallway and filled the Dungeons with its smell, to the screams of “Go Green, Go White!” that echoed through the halls, it certainly was a great day for a football game. Severus even joined for a few hours, wandering from his office down the hall and following the scent of the grill. The next day brought another great day- Slytherin against Ravenclaw. It was a rough game and everyone on both teams was covered in bruises by the time Zack caught the Snitch, his eyes sighting it a spilt second ahead of Draco and his hand grasping it a split second before Draco’s hand brushed the little gold ball.

On Monday Anne started yet another unit- American History, and had yet another visitor to her class, Cornelius Fudge, who kept trying to make his presence in the room seem important. Anne couldn’t have cared less whether or not he was there. He sat at her desk as she stood in her classroom that she had transformed before class. A pool table stood centre and the desks were set into clusters of four as to make small tables. She had closed the windows and dimmed the light, letting each student into the room as though she were the guard at a speakeasy. She leaned on the edge of the pool table, “Well, this week we are going to be studying a little about American History. From what I have heard, the most you kids really ever care about us is that we had a revolution and took our independence. Things have happened on that continent since, so we are going to start with the Prohibition era- one that I rather like. Can anyone tell me what all went on during this time, or even what Prohibition was?” The room was silent. Anne sighed, “Alright then, Prohibition was the time in American History when the selling of alcohol and its mass production were deemed illegal and therefore it became quite popular and there were bootleggers, or smugglers, who shipped it in from Canada and gangs that controlled what came in, how much, and where it was distributed to. Does anyone know the name of any gang leader from this era?” Angel raised her hand, but no one else could answer, “Yes, Ang?” “Wasn’t Al Capone a big leader of the Chicago gang?” Anne nodded, “Yes he was- the big gangs were in Chicago, with Capone, Detroit, with the Purple Gang, and then in New York with the Mafia families. Detroit and Chicago, being port cities, were great importers of illegal liquor into the United States. Today we will be learning about this era by first creating the atmosphere in here of a speakeasy or blind pig- a pub that served alcohol. Then we I will teach you to play pool, quite popular then and still now, and lastly we will sit down and talk about incidences specific to the city of Detroit during this time. So- get to it, let’s go back to Prohibition.” While the students were setting the mood and Jade had started a swing and ragtime phonograph on an old player, Fudge pulled aside Anne, “Are you sure it is wise to teach them these things? There is no use in it for their future and it is nothing that will aid in their wizardry- it is Muggle history, not Wizard.” Anne shook her head, “All history is intertwined as long as we shall live- the littlest thing will set another into motion and we are all tied to one another. Do not be so arrogant as to think that Muggle history does not affect us all in some way or form.” She returned her attention to her class and continued the lesson. After teaching pool, she began to tell the stories of Detroit.

“Beginning in the 1920's, the city of Detroit was filled with all the glitz, glamour, and money that the era was famous for. This time of risk taking was marked by the amendment of the United States Constitution in January of 1920. The new amendment marked the beginning of an era of Prohibition. Congressman Andrew Volstead of Minnesota introduced the National Prohibition Act in 1919. This act defined prohibited liquors as ones with an alcohol content of half of a percent or greater. It did, however, allow the production of liquor for medical, religious, or industrial uses and it allowed the production of fruit beverages made only for home consumption.

The lack of enforcement made bootlegging liquor an especially profitable trade, provided one was not unlucky enough to get caught ion the act. The bootleggers who shipped in the booze to be sold in the illegal "speakeasies" and "blind pigs" throughout the country were usually either members of one of the Prohibition gangs, or were suppliers to specific docks which were owned by one of the gangs. Since liquor was illegal in the United States, many gangs shipped their wares in from Canada. Anyone who owned a boat and had access to liquor could participate in this profitable business. One such gang that formed around the brewing trade was the Oakland Sugarhouse Gang. The Oakland Sugarhouse began as a legitimate business that sold equipment for the legal home brewing of liquor; however the temptation to supply these things to illegal brewers was quite strong. Soon the Oakland Sugarhouse Gang formed around began supplying to any brewers, including to those owned by unlicensed dealers. The Oakland Sugarhouse Gang rose up to a very powerful underworld position. A band of young strong arm men infiltrated the Oakland Sugar House Gang and quickly reached a status to where they could align themselves to the older and more respected gang. These young men were the core founders of what would later become known as the Purple Gang. 

The Purple Gang began its reign of terror over the Detroit underworld around 1919 when they escalated to full time professional criminals. After the onset of Prohibition on January sixteenth of 1920, the Purples enlarged their resume to include bootlegging and the ownership of several blind pigs in Detroit. 

The first major visible hand the Purples had in the history of Detroit was in the Cleaners and Dyers War, which began in 1925. The involvement they could boast of in this event was the bullying of Cleaning and Dying establishments who refused to raise their prices when the other companies in the business conspired to raise prices, and therefore profits, in all of Detroit. The first of many massacres the Purple gang was involved in was the Millaflores Apartment Massacre in 1927. Following this was the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929. On October twenty-ninth of that year, the Stock Market crashed and all of America was flung into the Great Depression. Now, even more so than before, the practice of smuggling in Canadian liquor became quite profitable for the Purples. In 1930 the Cleaners and Dyers war began to taper off, and the Purple Gang kept themselves occupied during 'Bloody July', nickname so due to the numerous murders that laced the city of Detroit. The following year they set up a contrivance that would later change the law enforcement's actions towards gangsters in Detroit.

The Collingwood Manor Massacre hit Detroit on September sixteenth, 1931. It was the worst gang murder since the Millaflores Apartment Massacre four years past. In its aftermath it left three men dead and a new scar on the city of Detroit. Later that week the state of Michigan passed a new Public Enemy Law. This act, officially entitled the Disorderly Persons Act, declared that it was a crime to be associated with any organization that participated in illegal occupation. It also penalized people involved in political corruption with fines and jail time. For gangsters it required only evidence of a person's reputation to convict, fine, and jail the individual. Under this act, many Purple Gangsters were apprehended, but often they were released on bond. The decline of the Purple Gang had begun. Prior to the Disorderly Persons Act, the law had never had solid enough evidence to convict many of the Purples for their underworld activities. Now they could be convicted merely because their association to the Purple Gang. As they declined, several of their members were jailed, and many other gangsters were killed one by one or in small groups by the Sicilian and Italian Mafias. The gang lost its holdings on the Detroit race wire service when the Italian Mafia told Abe Bernstein, one of the lead Purple Gangsters, that he could either hand the holdings over peacefully, or he could prepare hi gang to go to war over the ownership of the holdings. Due to a massive weakening in the structure of the Purple Gang, Bernstein wisely gave up the holdings. In return for this, the Italian Mafia gave him enough money to live off of and ‘retire’ from the gang world. Others fell from power much less gracefully, and some even gave up their pasts to live in the world of legitimate business.”

Her students were fairly interested in the stuff about the gang wars and the massacres and Anne finally gave in and pulled out a box of old photographs and newspaper clippings from under her desk, “My great grandfather was a policeman at the time and he was the photographer for his precinct and became sort of well known for his fascination for gang shootings and such- he was allowed to take pictures at some of the most vicious crime sites for both police records and his own personal collection. Here are some photos from Millaflores, and here are a few from Collingwood. I swear I have some from Bloody July in here somewhere…ah, here is one he was sent of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre….” Fudge did not understand why Anne was showing these pictures, “Why are you doing this? It is completely unnecessary!” Anne shook her head, “Not really. There is a gang on the lose in our world- it has different motives, but the methods are the same; cut deals on the threat of death and take ‘em out if they don’t comply in the manner that they are supposed to. You know of whom I speak.” Draco nodded, “The Death Eaters.” He handed her back the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Anne sighed, “Indeed.” Jade shook her head, “They claim to be the leaders of civilization, yet they are stuck in Mafia life without any progress since the early nineteen hundreds.” The classroom was silent for a while as they contemplated the pictures. Fudge left, he still did not understand Anne’s purposes.

Anne overlapped the next day with the Great Depression and then on Wednesday covered both World Wars in an extended three hour class time. On Thursday they covered the Red Scare of the nineteen fifties and recalled their reading of **_The Crucible_** the year prior. Fudge had not seen her methods as proper any of these days, and Anne was a bit glad- it meant that she was actually teaching in an inventive manner. For the Depression she had read passages from journals and stories set in that time and had the students write a bit of their own work detailing life in the Depression. On Wednesday she had covered the rise of Hitler and the Nazi influence on Europe, the effects of hidden treaties, the invasion and annexation of a country, Pearl Harbour, Dunkirk, D-Day, V.E.-Day and V.J.-Day, along with other events along the way, including the Manhattan Project and the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She then had the students take various roles and discuss what it would have been like to live during different sections of the wars. Fudge’s ill humour seemed worse on Wednesday and she found out why after class.

“You are engaged to another Hogwarts professor! This cannot be allowed- your relationship might interrupt your work!” he nearly shouted after all her students had left. Anne did not believe what she was hearing, “Did you present this discovery of yours to my husband to be in this manner as well? If so, then I am surprised you survived.” Fudge did not like her slightly sarcastic tone, “Mrs. Schetzek, it was from he that I learned this.” Anne rolled her eyes, “When will you people understand that my name is _Ms. Schetzek_ \- not Mrs. Schetzek or Miss Matthews? Lucius did not want to say it properly either! Let me guess, Severus was actually happy, you expressed your delight in this and inquired why, he told, you were taken aback and did the whole ‘oh…that’s _nice_ ’ thing and left suddenly, leaving him to wonder if he had said something wrong. Great way to make him feel good about having discovered that love was available to him too.” Fudge just stood there for a moment, “Ms. Schetzek-” She held up her hand and a soft knock landed on the door, “It’s Severus. Come in.” He stepped in quietly and stopped at seeing Fudge, “Shall I come back later?” She shook her head, “Of course not, Fudge was just leaving.” Fudge shot her a glare and hurried out of the room. Severus sighed and leaned back against her desk as the door clicked shut, “Whatever he is thinking, it is sure to bring trouble.” Anne smiled and kissed him on the cheek, “Don’t worry, dear, everything will turn ‘round right in time.”

Thursday started well, but did not last that way. After Anne taught her class on McCarthyism and the nineteen fifties by staging a trial and holding a duck and cover drill, Severus stormed into her classroom. Thankfully, only Jade, Jonas, Draco, and Angel were left there with Anne. Jade motioned to the door and they all left, allowing Severus to vent, “Who does he think he is? He comes to me and has the gall to ask if I am sure that I know what I am doing in marrying you- asks if I am aware of the bloodline implications of the Snape household and all and asks if I am truly motivated to marry for the proper purposes and not for money or body. I asked him what ever gave him the idea that a little refugee had a huge account anywhere and I frankly told him that your body was yours and not something to toy with. Still he berated me! Lise, what am I to do? I can’t deal with him heckling me!” Anne caught Severus as he furiously paced by and stopped him in front of her, “Lise, let me go.” She shook her head and wrapped her arms around him, “No, you are going to just calm yourself for a moment, just be still- I can feel your heart racing. Take a few deep breaths and try to clear your mind. No matter what he says to anyone, there is no way that you can change the way your heart feels and I am hoping that you will have the courage to stand up and be strong, as I know you are. Don’t give him a second thought.” Severus took a deep breath and let it all pass from him in a great sigh, “Yes, thank you, Lisie.” They stood embracing in silence for a moment before he pulled away, considerably more controlled, “May I walk you downstairs?” She nodded, “Indeed.”

Before her class on Friday, Fudge confronted Anne much in the manner that Severus had described to her the day before. She sat calmly through it, answering in as short of sentences that she could and, upon his completion, calmly standing, “I know what I am doing, I will not betray my heart, and I will not give him up.” She left to go teach her class on the nineteen sixties and the rise of the hippie. Her main event that day was going to be a brief recap of Woodstock sixty-nine and she had a little set-up to do.

On Saturday the eleventh, MSU played Illinois. Anne did not get to see the score; she was interrupted by Fudge. He called both her and Severus out in the hall and then asked if they might retreat to the quiet of Severus’ office. They did and he began to speak, “I know that you both claim that your impending marriage is a sure thing and that it is the best decision for the both of you, but I would like to give you a bit of advice- I am not advocating this bond in any way, shape, or form. It looks bad to have to people with pasts as your own to join because it seems that they may be combining knowledge for evil rather than good. It also is not good for the Snape name. That family has been pureblood for as long as it has existed. Severus, in taking Anne, a Muggleborn, as your bride, any offspring you should conceive would no longer uphold the pureblood associations of the Snape name. The bloodline would be broken.” Severus felt a silent fury rise within him. Anne spoke quietly, “It already has been broken- Jonas and Ursula’s father is unknown and they take the Snape name. Also, Jadelyn’s father was not a pureblood either, as much as he resents that. I suppose you mean then that Severus should marry some nice pureblood girl to ensure that at least on of the family branches’ purity should be preserved. I think that all this bloodline talk is rubbish, after all, if the head of the family embraces us into his family, then it is his voice that should be heard above all others; the Ministry has no right to dictate family affairs.” Fudge shook his head, “No, but we do have hold over Hogwarts’ _affairs_ , one of which this seems to be.” Anne turned red, “Are you insinuating that there has been fooling around in our relationship before marriage? If so, Mr. Fudge, then I insist that you leave.” He shrugged, “How would I know? You young folks these days are so loose with yourselves that we older, wiser wizards hardly know what to do with ourselves.” Severus had kept silent until now, “There is no wisdom where love is discounted for bloodlines. I love Annelise, and she I. We will not change our minds about our wedding come Hell or high-water, as she has taught me to say. Nigel is pleased with my lady, he is the head of house, he wishes for her to bear the family name, to be his daughter-in-law. If he approves, then I have no qualms about this union. Even if he did not approve, I do not believe the situation would prove any different. Please allow us to return to the company of our family and friends, seeing as our family is, at least, waiting for us.” They all left and emptied into the hall, Severus locking his door behind him, “All that was said is final, and there will be no more discussion of this.” He escorted Anne to her chamber to where Jade, Draco, Angel, Jonas, and Minerva were all waiting. They had a future to conspire.

On Monday, Anne continued with her decades studies, moving on to the nineteen-seventies. She turned on her rock music and turned the room into a dance hall. On Tuesday the studied the eighties and everyone agreed that there could not have been a stranger decade with worse music. Wednesday brought a writing assignment, Thursday an exam, and Friday they went over the exams in class. Anne was glad for Saturday and for the Euchre Cult it brought and the MSU / Minnesota game. 

On Sunday, Gryffindor played Slytherin and won with difficulty. After the game, Anne was happy to see Draco and Harry joking around and re-enacting the catching of the Snitch in slow motion while the Gryffindor team watched and laughed. The Slytherin team had wandered off to sulk in the locker room. Anne met Severus and they slipped off to the thinking spot. They had a wedding date to decide on.

Monday came too quickly for Anne. She awoke, showered, and dressed for the day. Her classroom was abuzz wondering what they were going to study next as she sat down at her desk after opening the door a little later than usual, “Alright everyone- we are going to be doing something different this week. Starting today, you will be planning for Hallowe’en. You will be designing and pulling off a Harvest Festival for next week. Monday will be our introduction day and that is going to be when we get people excited about what is starting the next day. Then you have to think up something to happen on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Friday will be the culmination of the festival and we will have a costume ball that you will also have to plan. You can either all tackle each project together or make subcommittees, but since there are so few of you I recommend you do it as a whole. You are also expected to either make or gather a costume for the ball at the end of the week. I will also help, but I will not design the events. I expect all of you to participate. Good luck, have fun, and get to work.”

They worked and plotted all week, and on Saturday, the Euchre Cult met and discussed plans over their cards. There was no football game, so they worked out their last minute plans instead. 

There was a party for the Quiddich teams on Sunday and Ravenclaw won the Quiddich Cup. Some of the students left a little early to put the finishing touches on the Harvest Festival.

Monday they heralded the news of their events all over the school and they tried to get people as excited about the Harvest Festival as was humanly possible. 

Tuesday came and Jade found herself in the Great Hall with a huge cartload of pumpkins and students everywhere carving them. She smiled; a pumpkin carving contest was a great way to start off the Harvest Festival and would get the students in the mood of the holiday. Draco flung a handful of pumpkin gut at Jade and she somehow managed to catch it and fling it back, smacking the back of his head- he had turned around to try to feign innocence. He yelped and Anne rolled her eyes, “I don’t want to have to try to clean this place’s ceiling- keep the goop flinging to a minimum.”

Wednesday Draco stood draped in his long cloak, his hood up, and a basket of different ribbons and such things on his arm. He, Anne’s other students, and many staff members and other students stood in the Great Hall and heard Anne tell of how the Ancient Druids would decorate the trees as an offering to their deities. She explained the meanings of different trees and then led them out of the Great Hall, through the Entry Hall, and out onto the grounds where they spent the day decorating the trees and singing old Celtic songs.

On Thursday, Anne’s class entered the Great Hall during lunch dressed in earthy costumes of twigs, grasses, berries, and other things that reminded one of the forest floor. They stood in random places in the hall and performed a Mummer’s play that Anne had written in the style of the Celts.

Friday was Hallowe’en, and Anne’s twenty-seventh birthday. She sighed as the students gathered all their preparations in the hallway behind the Great Hall. They left things there; Anne charmed the decorations and such for the ball so no one would make off with them and then went into the feast. Anne took her seat and watched as Severus whispered something to Albus. She beamed at him as he sat down, “So- will he let you?” Severus nodded, “I…think that you had better make the announcement. I am a bit uncomfortable with making it.” Anne laughed lightly, “Of course I will.” After a few housekeeping details that Albus had to take care of, including reminding the students of the costume ball after the feast, he nodded to Severus and Anne. She rose, “We have a bit of news that we would like to pass on to you all. As you know, Severus and I are engaged. A few weeks ago we decided on a wedding date and decided that we would make known this fact tonight. On March seventeenth we invite you all to come and spend the day with us as we are wed. More details will come as we figure them out.” She sat down as she spied Angel in the crowd excitedly relaying to anyone who would hear her that since the seventeenth of March was her birthday that a dad was the best present she could get.

After the feast the students departed to change into their costumes and the decorating/work crew moved at lightning speed to move the tables into the hall and to decorate the room as fast as was humanly possible and still have time to run and get changed. Somehow they transformed the room into a grand ballroom in less than an hour. No one was quite sure how it happened, but they did not have much time to do so anyway- they had to change into their costumes.

Anne flung open the doors of the Great Hall and the students were met by not only the grand sight before them but by Anne looking like she had stepped out of the masquerade ball from **_The Phantom of the Opera_**. Everyone flocked into the room, filling it with a flock of colourful designs. Jade showed up in a colour other than black, her hair piled on top of her head in an elaborate mess of strand ends sticking out of a strange bun and her long bangs hanging down out of the pile. She wore a very tight and low black midriff shirt and a short red skirt that was far too short to sit down in even if it had not been so tight as to prevent sitting in the first place. She wore fishnet tights and spike heels. All the boys in the room stared at her as she passed and as she reached Draco, who was wearing a pair of bellbottoms and Jonas’ Led Zeppelin t-shirt, tennis shoes he had borrowed off some student and Anne’s round John Lennon sunglasses his eyebrows shot up, “Hot DAMN! Girl, you make one sexy slut!” She grinned, her bright red lips slightly parting, “A hippie and his whore- what a combination.” Meanwhile, Angel was running around in a tutu and trying to get someone to dance with her. Harry had raided Anne’s costume box that had come from Cambridge and had found a long black fitted trench coat and a, wearing all black under it, looked very sharp. Ron had found an archer’s costume from the middle ages, but had substituted pants for the tights. Hermione dressed in a medieval chemise with a black lace up bodice and a black skirt. She and Ron looked like they should have been from the same era. Minerva and Anne watched everyone laugh and dance, “I like the cat costume, Minerva.” Minerva thanked Anne, her fluffy ears shifting, her long leopard print robe swirling around her, “Anne, where is that Severus of yours?” Anne shrugged, “I have no idea- he usually only pops into such things as this to appease me, but if he isn’t feeling up to coming, he won’t.” They talked on the wedding for a few moments until Minerva broke from the topic, “Well, what do you know, he made an appearance.” Anne searched the area Minerva indicated and watched Severus make his way toward her. He really hadn’t dressed much different than usual, but a bit more like he stepped out of a Charles Dickens novel than his usual Gothic Victorian self. Anne smiled at him as he finally made his way into her and Minerva’s company, “Well, it is still black, but at least you changed what style it is coming in….” she grinned teasingly and laughed. Minerva excused herself, leaving the two standing together at the edge of the room. He shrugged, “Do you wish to dance, milady?” She nodded, “I would very much like that, milord.” 

The next day, Anne got up early and prepared her room for the football game and euchre gathering. She was exhausted from the night before and their having to tear down everything after the dance, but she was determined that she would stay awake for the Michigan State against the University of Michigan game- it was, after all, the biggest rivalry in the state she had once lived in.

Despite all of Anne’s intentions, she began to doze off during the game. Severus, who had been playing euchre with Jade, Draco, and Harry, gave over his hand to Hermione and carried Anne to his office, laying her out on the couch that he had recently acquired. She fell asleep nearly immediately and he stayed to watch her until everyone had quitted her room and he could place her in her own hammock.

November flew by almost too quickly. Jade began to teach a few of the Potions classes on her own on the third and Anne began poetry again with her class on the sixth, starting with an introduction and then diving into Shelley on Friday the seventh. Football and the euchre cult met on the eighth, fifteenth, and twenty-second. Between them were more classes on Keats, Blake, writing poetry, and then movies. On the seventeenth, Anne introduced her unit, and then they watched **_Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves_**. Angel’s only comment, other than her endless blatherings about the Sheriff, was that he sort of looked like her father to be. They then proceeded to watch **_The Nightmare Before Christmas_** , **_The Three Musketeers_** , and somehow Anne had gotten her hands on a copy of **_Pirates of the Caribbean_**. They then watched **_The Count of Monte Cristo_** , **_The Man in the Iron Mask_** , **_Mickey Mouse_** , and then had their exam on films. This led up to Friday, November twenty-eight where they reviewed their exams. The next day, however, was no longer normal.

Jade lay sprawled out on her bed in her nightdress in the evening with her copy of **_For Whom the Bell Tolls_** lying on her stomach. Draco had not come to see her all day and she was beginning to be a little ticked off. A knock came at the door, “Come in.” It was Draco, “ _About time you little brat_.” she thought as he flopped on the bed, “Jade, I need to talk to you.” He looked like he had been worrying about something the entire day, “Go on, there is no reason that you need to think that you can’t talk to me.” He sat up, as did she, and he took both her hands in his, “I know that I am not even out of school yet, but I will be soon and…will you marry me?” Jade smiled sweetly, “Yes.” Draco laughed, “Really?” and fell backwards off the bed. Jade giggled and leaned over to watch him right himself, “Yes, really.” He clamoured back onto the bed and wrapped his arm around her waist, “You know, let’s keep this a secret from everyone except Severus, Anne, and Angel.” Jade ran her long, currently black nails along his spine, “I like that idea- but why do they even have to know?” He sighed, “Well, I asked Severus for advice, Anne overheard from behind her folding screen, and Angel was in the loft and I didn’t even know she was there.” Jade laughed as a bright smile spread across her face. Draco sighed, “I’m sorry that I don’t have a ring to give you, but Father inquires about every expense incurred while I am here, and I do not want him to know about any of this.” Jade nodded and got up, going to one of her chests and removing from it a jewellery box. She lifted the lid and drew out a ring box, “This ring was from my mother to Vanessa. It was to be passed on to her eldest daughter, but since she died, it was packed away until Adelaide would have a child. Nigel refused to give it to her. This can be my engagement ring.” Draco opened the box to see a gold band delicately sprouting tiny flowers along the front and a tiny dove resting in the centre. The entire thing was washed in delicate soft colours so the flowers were blue with tiny green leaves and the dove was the palest pink that was imaginable. With slightly trembling hands, Draco pulled the ring from its place and slipped it onto Jade’s hand, “I love you, Miss Riddle.” his face mere inches from hers. She did not respond for a moment, then hardly breathed her reply, “I love you too, Mr. Malfoy.” She slowly closed the distance between them and their lips met in a soft kiss.

The next morning, Jade awoke to find Draco asleep atop her blankets. She kissed his forehead and gently woke him, “Draco, come on, wake up- it is nearly noon already.” He groaned and turned to face her, “I don’t want to get up.” She tousled his usually perfect hair and slipped out of bed, “I am going to shower and change. When I get down here, I want you to have done the same. Severus and I have plans to make for next week and you can bet that Angel will want to hear all the details from you as to how you proposed, what I said, and how long we kissed for afterward.” Draco blushed a tiny bit and sat up, “Fine. Whatever you say, dear.” Jade grinned and went to start her day.

Anne taught hockey the next week, transforming the Quiddich field into a temporary rink. She discovered that her students would never make it to a Stanley Cup playoff and had them play a very unruly, yet very fun game of broom hockey on Friday. Jade’s birthday was on Sunday, December seventh and she went flying with Draco. Hockey finished up on Monday with an exam Tuesday and no class Thursday or Friday. Tall the students left the school for Christmas Vacation on Sunday, December twenty-first. Hermione and Ron went to their parents’ houses while Harry went to the Burrow with Ron. Draco stayed at the school while Jade, Jonas, Severus, and Anne all returned to Nigel’s place for the break. Severus departed for his own home from there. Anne travelled to London on Tuesday to visit Rah and Britta for their early Christmas reunion with the group of girls that had all gone to Hell for school. Anne ran into Lanie on her way to Britta and Rah’s place, “Lise! How are you doing? Good Lord, girl, I have not seen you in years- you look good!” Anne smiled at her friend. Lanie was shorter than she and built more solidly with a wonderfully curved figure and beautiful dark red-with-a-hint-of-brown hair, “Lanie, girl, you look gorgeous as usual yourself- what are you here for? Christmas?” Lanie nodded, “What else? Hey, I have to get going right now to find out what sort of things this city has around Christmas- the girls need help decorating the house and I said I would come over early to help on Thursday. I am studying in Spain, so it wasn’t terribly far for me to come- I am staying downtown- you?” Anne gave her a grin, “I am staying with the girls, I hardly have much money at all and I am living out in the middle of nowhere- with who will be revealed at sanctioned girl time.” Lanie gave Anne a little grin back, “I smell romance…you go girl!” Anne laughed, “I will see you Thursday for the party.” Lanie turned to leave, “You too, Lise, you too!”

Anne spent Tuesday helping the girls get the house ready for the party and the same on Wednesday. Ten o’clock on Thursday morning, Lanie came and helped decorate while Anne ran into town to pick up a few little things. She drove Britta’s car. It had been so long since she had driven anything and Anne liked the reminders that the week had brought of her time in Hell.

Anne arrived back at the house later than she had planned and at exactly three o’clock, she left again to pick up Kat. Kat had been from Hell also, but was a few years older than the other girls and they did not know each other until their last summer vacation- between their junior and senior years of high school. Once they reached the house, the party had begun. Lanie wore mistletoe in her hair and was contemplating finding a really fine man out on the streets and seeing how he would react, but Kat convinced her otherwise. Instead, they all sat around the strange little fireplace with junk food and Christmas music and talked about their times since high school. Kat went first, “Well, I discovered I could use magic, you all know that, and then I started college at Alma. I eventually graduated from MSU with a degree in computer graphics, but I haven’t used it yet and am currently working at a hippie store in East Lansing. No guy, no kids, no nothing.” Lanie gave her a quick hug, “Eh, no guy is better than a bad one. I had an awful boyfriend. Treated me like dirt.” Britta interrupted, “Who?” “Nate.” Britta cringed, “I told you he was bad news…when I was dating him!” Lanie shrugged, “I’m stubborn- but I broke up with him real fast. I am single and loving it now. There is this one guy though…. Anyway, um, yeah, I have had a few little things published here and there and am struggling as a waitress at a restaurant in Spain. Hey, I get by, and when I write a novel, then I will get out of that little dive and I can work just as a writer!” Britta nodded, “Good- let’s see. Most of you remember me and Carlos, damn scum, and I too am single and loving it. I have no idea what to do with my life now that I have a degree from that little business sort of college thingy and Rah and I are living here after the disaster that hit Hell hard.” Rah took over, “Did you hear?” Kat nodded and Lanie shook her head. Rah looked to Anne, “It will come. So…do you want the abridged version of my life or the full tale?” They unanimously agreed on the full tale. Anne told of her life in Cambridge, of her widowhood, of her running, and of her coming to Hogwarts. She told about her first year teaching and about Severus. She told about all the things she had done in and about Belfast, her second year teaching, her theatre production, her encounter with Voldemort, and then her eventful summer. She then told about her year so far, detailing everything as best she could. Once she was done, they all just sat there for a moment in shock. Finally Kat spoke, “God, Lise, you have had an awful time of it, haven’t you? Widowed, chased, family killed, near deaths of pretty much everyone you have been with…how did you get through?” Anne shrugged, “Angel and Severus have sustained me. I have the good to look out for- after all, I am engaged now, I have a daughter, my niece-to-be is engaged, though I am not supposed to tell you that, and I am having a wonderful time teaching, no matter what comes up. Life has given me lemons, but I have added a lot of love and the lemonade didn’t turn out too sour.” Lanie grinned and sighed, “If it is meant to be, all things will fall into place easily and the wait will seem like nothing- just like I said after Nate was an ass. If something is meant to happen, well, it will- you just have to be patient.” Kat nodded, “I think we are all still waiting- except Lise, who has had enough of that already.” Anne laughed, “There is more to come, that I know.” Kat tossed the bag of popcorn to Rah, “So, Lise, tell us about your man- what does he look like, how old, is he hot, does he sing, how is he at kissing and _other_ things, do you like his family, how does Angel get along with him…and then tell us all about Angel too. I want to know your family by the end of the night.” Anne flipped over onto her stomach on her beanbag chair and began to tell. She talked about Severus the most, then Angel and Jade, Jonas and Ursula, Nigel and Draco, and Chloë and Adelaide. She talked about her neighbours, her students, and her fellow staff members, promising that if the girls came to the wedding, which they were going to have to because they were going to be in it whether they knew it or not, they would meet most of the names Anne had mentioned.

The next day she said her goodbyes departed from the company of her sisters. One of the people she had missed there had been Al- a fun loving Renaissance Fair going girl who had been introduced to her by Kat just before graduation- Anne and she had clicked and she wondered where Al had gotten off too- she was certain that she would at least know when it came time for the wedding guests to RSVP. She apparated on Nigel’s doorstep with her luggage and was met shortly thereafter by an enthusiastic hug from her daughter and the first major snowfall drifting down around her.

Until Christmas Eve the household was busy with Christmas shopping and preparing for Christmas dinner, including getting a tree and dragging it upstairs to the library without taking down the house. Somehow they managed. The tree was left bare until Christmas Eve when Nigel traditionally decorated it and the house. Adelaide was absent that evening and Nigel was a bit saddened with not having any of his children home to decorate with. Anne sighed, it really was too bad that Nigel was not happier, but she didn’t know what else she could do other than be cheery and try to make the environment light. The entire household tramped into the storage area and dragged out boxes of decorations around six o’clock. They tugged them upstairs to the library and opened them up, ready to decorate the tree, the house, and the grounds when a knock came at the door, “Who could that be?” asked Nigel. Anne rose, “I will go and see, if you wish.” He nodded and she departed. She made her way downstairs and to the front door, “Hang on a moment, coming!” she called to whoever was visiting. She opened the door to find two people on the stoop, Draco and Severus. She motioned for them to enter, both of them depositing their trunks in the hall. Anne laughed and pointed to the stairs, “Go on up, Draco- just follow the noise.” Before Severus and she followed she turned to him and they embraced, sharing a wonderfully tender kiss. She smiled and laughed, “Come on- we have a tree to decorate!” They ascended the stairs and entered the library to find Jade and Draco holding each other. Severus pecked her on the cheek and then walked to where Nigel was talking to Jonas, his back on the scene. Severus laid his hand on Nigel’s shoulder. He nodded to Jonas to indicate the end of their conversation and turned to the interrupter. As he recognized his smiling son, his face lit with joy. Severus let his hand fall to his side, “Merry Christmas, Father.”

They went on to decorate the tree with ornaments that had been in the Snape family for generations, some from English, some from Wales, some German, a few Scottish, and even a few others were from Spain. Most of the ornaments, however, were made by hand by various members of the family and could not be traced to any specific ethnicity. Angel was curious about the range of ethnicities and questioned Nigel about it. He replied with a chuckle, “Oh yes, we have somehow been a pureblood family, but not all English purebloods- in this family there is a definite love of being a roving knave and some branches just struck out to seek their mates in other lands or territories- why, I had an uncle who married a witch from Thailand- he insisted on a pureblood for some reason. My father’s father was quite insistent to that fact for some reason. Thankfully it is no longer of any importance to this family.” Angel nodded, “Yup- or else Mum would be in big trouble.” Nigel laughed and tousled Angel’s hair. The tree, when finally decorated, was stunningly beautiful. They stared at the coloured lights strung around it with the other lights off and allowed themselves to be calm for a moment. Then they turned back on the lights and decorated the yard with two plastic snowmen, a crèche that Nigel’s father had carved with a four foot tall Joseph, a Christmas light star hanging above the crèche off of a plant hanger modified for the purpose, and enough lights to line the path so that a coloured trail ushered guests to the front door. They decided that the yard was wonderful and that they needed to work on the indoors since snow had started falling quite heavily and they were all wanting to keep themselves dry for the evening. Once inside, Angel and Ursula wrapped themselves in the garland and paraded around the house with it wherever someone called that they needed the sparkly stuff. They wrapped the railings in coloured lights and draped garlands across the tops of the velvet curtains covering the windows. All the doorframes were hung with garland and tinsel and Anne made sure that she placed sprigs of holly above each bedroom door. Chloë hung the stockings off the permanent hooks on the mantle and lay ivy along the mantle. At the end of all their efforts it was near midnight and everyone was exhausted, but happy with their beautiful home. Before they went to bed, Draco sharing Severus and Jonas’ room, Nigel told them that somewhere in the house he would hang a sprig of mistletoe, but they were not allowed to search for it until morning. Chloë and Nigel sent the family to bed and then went about arranging the presents beneath the tree. Nigel sent Chloë to bed and hung the mistletoe, wondering which of the happy couples under his roof he would first catch under it.

Christmas Day came with bright sun and snow everywhere- of course, Angel and Ursie were up long before the sun and let Anne sleep until seven before storming her door and jumping on her bed. She woke laughing and chased the girls into Jade’s room where they woke her in much the same manner. They next added Chloë to their masses. They went to gather the boys. Jade jumped on Draco’s bed while Angel and Ursie attacked Jonas. Anne woke Severus by tossing herself on his bed beside him. Once the entire party was awake they went to wake Nigel. Everyone, including the guests, jumped onto Nigel’s bed where he was nearly awake already. They ran to the library, even the adults, and gathered around the lit tree. Everyone found that they had a stocking filled with candies and little toys or knickknacks. Angel and Ursie planted themselves under the tree and handed out presents that were labelled ‘From Santa’ and then they eagerly tore open their gifts. Angel discovered the ‘Standard Book of Spells’ and was quite ready to dive into it to ready herself for her first year of classes the next year. Ursie found her first set of robes, as did Jonas. Jade found a new pair of ballet slippers, her usual footwear around the school, while Draco discovered, to his surprise, that he too had a gift from Santa Clause (well, Nigel- close enough) and that it was a nice desk set. Anne opened her gift next, happy to discover a sketchpad and watercolour set. Adelaide, who had showed up sometime in the night, happily found a manicure set. Severus found a fresh scroll of parchment and a new pen and inkwell. Chloë unwrapped a bottle of her favourite wine and grinned, “Santa has good taste.” Nigel also had a Santa present, one that Chloë had picked out for him. It was a pair of flannel pyjamas. Then came the gift exchange. Nigel and Chloë had decided to give a gift together as the head of house and his co-conspirator. To Anne they gave an easel, to Adelaide a gift certificate for her favourite hairdresser, to Severus a set of flasks and beakers, to Jonas a set of dress robes, to Draco the complete works of Poe, while Angel and Ursie both received wizard hats. Kath was having a ball playing in the wrappings with the kids early on and managed to get quite tangled in them.

Next came the random gift exchange that occurs in every family- where everyone somehow ends up with a neat (or in Angel and Ursie’s cases, not so neat) little pile of presents in front of them from each member of the family. Draco and Jade did not give a gift to the family, instead, they made an announcement, Jade speaking for the both of them, “Well, we couldn’t buy a gift for each of you, seeing that we are but poor students and are wouldn’t know what to get all of you anyway, so we decided to give you a bit of good news instead- Draco and I are engaged.” Ursie and Angel hugged, Jonas laughed, “Welcome in, brother!” Severus and Anne already knew, and Nigel was more than pleased with Draco, as was Chloë. Adelaide was in shock, but no one really cared about her reaction anyway. 

Angel had a ball tearing open her presents and scattering the papers everywhere for the cat to play in. She got a Barbie doll from Adelaide, a silver hairbrush from Chloë, an electric train set from Nigel, the first year Potions text from Severus, a picture of the barn drawn by Ursie, a cartoon book called ‘Hogwarts history, Snape style’ that Jonas had written and illustrated (it was far from ordinary, stressing the stranger events in the history of the school over the practical- such as the page where Salazar is seen leaving the other founders and driving off in a Corvette shouting, “Good riddance!” while the Sorting Hat gave him a raspberry), and from Anne she got a little book of poetry that had been hand copied and bound, passed on for generations in the Matthews family.

Ursie had also rejoiced in the making of the paper mess and tore her presents open with a relish that outstripped Angel’s. She got a Barbie also from her mother, a handmade skirt from Chloë, a new pair of shoes from Nigel, a miniature kitchen set from Anne (having seen her hover around Jade while cooking, curiously inquiring about everything Jade did), a teddy bear from Severus, a treasure map of the house and grounds from Angel, and a toy fire engine that Jonas carved.

Jonas watched the girls play with the cat in the paper with great amusement as he opened his presents. Adelaide had bought him a cauldron for his schoolwork, Ursie had drawn a picture of he and her with the rest of the family, including Draco, Anne had somehow found an LP of **_Led Zeppelin Four_** , Severus gave him a copy of **_Frankenstein_** and **_The Phantom of the Opera_** to read, Chloë gave him a little box stuffed tight with logo patches that had once belonged to Jon, Angel gave him a stuffed toy tiger wearing a baseball cap, and Nigel gave him the trench coat once intended for Robert that Anne had found and finished in the sewing room. 

Draco watched the cat try to find her way out from under the pile of paper and then began to add the mess, tearing into his presents. He had not expected to find anything under the tree- his family did not celebrate any such holidays at his father’s demand. He happily found that Anne had given him a collection of Romantic Era poetry, Severus had given him a gift certificate for any Hogsmeade shop, Chloë gave him a basket of no-bake cookies, Adelaide gave him a peace sign necklace where each of the open sections was a different colour, Angel and Ursie drew pictures of each other for him, while Jonas gave Draco a pair of baggy pants and an Ozzy long-sleeved tee-shirt, “You just looked so comfortable in the ‘Zeppelin shirt that I had to get you a punk outfit too,” Jonas commented as a pile of torn paper was dumped on his head. Nigel gave Draco hats- he thought that every man should have a bowler, a paperboy hat, a fedora, and baseball cap, so that is what Draco found in the package- a brown bowler, a tan paperboy hat, a black fedora, and a Toronto Blue Jays baseball cap.

Jade happily dove into her gifts as a Christmas paper fight broke out between Ursie, Angel, and Jonas. Each of the girls had drawn her a picture, Ursie of Angel and Angel of Ursie, Anne had made Jade a memory book that covered the last year in poems and pictures, Severus gave her a set of beakers, vials, flasks, tubes, and other equipment that Jade would find helpful in the lab, Chloë made Jade her favourite cookies, Adelaide gave Jade a new fencing outfit- her old one was getting pretty battered, and Nigel gave her a brand new sabre, her old one having not only bent, but snapped during practice.

Anne took her turn next as Angel and Ursie tackled Jade and dragged her into their fray. Jonas and Ursie had together given her a gold Celtic square necklace that had been Missy Gleichbaum’s, Severus gave her a pretty velvet case for her wand, Chloë gave her a quilt that Elenore had begun after Anne’s wedding to Jon, had lain ignored for years, and that Chloë had finished after Elenore’s death, Adelaide gave her a cookbook, Angel gave her a box decorated as a home for Liam the snake, who currently resided in Anne’s old pencil box, and Nigel gave her a sewing kit that had been his wife’s and full reign of the sewing room.

Adelaide happily ignored the rest of the people in the room and added her papers to the mess that was fast taking over the library. Jonas and Ursie had given her a portrait that had been painted of them on Ursie’s second birthday, Anne gave her a short set of robes that was bright red and the length of a riding tunic, Severus gave his sister a pair of silver candlesticks, Chloë made her a darling little corset style bodice, Angel drew her a picture of the garden, and Nigel gave her a round trip train ticket to anywhere she would care to go.

Severus watched as Jade was swamped with wrapping and while her siblings, Angel, and Draco all tried to bury her under it. Anne leaned her head on his shoulder as he unwrapped the gifts in front of him. Jonas gave Severus a very nice porcelain replica of the Phantom’s mask, Ursie had folded a slightly lopsided origami flower for him, Chloë gave him a nice pair of black slippers, Adelaide ignored her brother even on Christmas, Angel drew another family portrait, Anne wrote Severus a love letter and gave him a little wooden placard that stated whenever it appeared in Anne’s room, she owed him a massage, Nigel gave his son an old book, “This is the family record- I have added Jonas, and Ursie into the book, but as tradition dictates, the eldest son is to take the record into his hands within the year of his marriage.”

Chloë laughed as Anne tossed a wad of paper onto Jade’s lap, causing Angel to swipe it from where it landed and proceed to pummel Jonas with a stash of paper wads she had piled up behind her back. Chloë unwrapped her gifts, finding a nice frame decorated by Ursie holding a pretty picture of the sea taken by Jonas. Anne and Severus jointly gave her a detailed map of the grounds, looking so realistic that it could have been an overhead photograph, but was really the product of the both of them working to create the perfect gift. Adelaide gave Chloë a pretty ceramic cat; Angel gave her a picture of the house from the front, while Nigel gave her a book on beadwork. 

By this time there was no hope of stopping the paper wads that flew through the air. Nigel opened a gift to discover everything that Jonas and Ursie had from their childhood- two straw baskets, two blankets, and two very tiny pairs of shoes, Anne, Severus, and Angel all gave him artwork- Angel gave Nigel her map of the barn that she had drawn during her first summer in the Snape household, Severus gave him the painting of Anne in Belfast, and Anne gave him a banner depicting a grand ballroom framed in a trellis draped with ivy, Adelaide gave her father a new wizard’s chess set, and Chloë made Nigel a platter of cookies. The paper wad fight was declared won by Angel and Ursie when Jade, Jonas, and Draco all were too eager to eat breakfast instead of finishing the game. Anne cooked a large breakfast with Jade and Ursie and they all enjoyed the day with hot chocolate, snow wars, and the best game of Lord of the Rings Risk ever when Anne took over both Mordor and the Shire and went on to win the game.

The rest of the week was spent relaxing and enjoying not having to do anything but play and have fun. Angel declared herself the ruler of all the world each time she played Risk and was often known to state that when she played with the rest of the family that Jade was Arwen, Jonas was Aragorn, Ursie was a Hobbit woman, Anne was Galadriel, Severus was Elrond, Nigel was Gandalf, Chloë was elected to be Gimili because she did not care if she had to be a man for a while, and Angel stated that she was Eowyn. No one argued with her, it was far too much fun to mix role playing and Risk.

On New Years Eve, the Snape clan (except Adelaide, who had disappeared again) all trouped down to the MacCumhail barn to celebrate with a Ceildhe. They stayed up until all hours of the night, stumbling home around four in the morning. Jade carried Ursie while Jonas walked beside her, Severus carried Anne, who had nearly fallen asleep a few times while dancing with him, Nigel carried Angel, and Chloë got the doors. Draco left the party with his host family and walked to the Snape home, very happy that he was not sitting at Hogwarts by himself or hiding in his room with Narcissa from Lucius. 

The next day, everyone slept until near noon. Anne saw Severus off as he headed home to plan for the upcoming year while the kids pummelled each other with snow and eventually decided to sculpt an entire snow family in the back yard.

The students were going to return to Hogwarts on the fifth, so at the end of the week, Anne and Jade returning late with them rather than on the weekend with the staff. She made sure that everything was ready for Angel, Jade, and Jonas and they boarded the Hogwarts Express, eagerly anticipating the rest of the year.


	9. 9

Monday, January fifth: classes at Hogwarts resume for the second half of the year. 

In Anne’s class, she sat on her desk and waited for her students to calm down before she made the first announcement of the day, “Well, now that we have all had a much needed break from the day to day work of classes, we are going to start our yearly theatre production. We will not be doing a traditional show this year, rather a theatre review. This means that you will be presenting a clip show of acts from various productions, be it drama or musical, dance or whatever- this show will be designed in class, as will all the aspects of the production, such as lighting and set designs. We will divide into crews only after all the design work is done and we are rehearsing the show. I want you to brainstorm today and start making notes- tomorrow we are putting together the script.”

The next day, Anne spread a huge sheet of paper on the floor, “O.K., what should we open with?” Ideas were thrown around until everyone reached a consensus on what the opening act would be. They decided on **_Façade_** from **_Jekkyl and Hyde_**. Anne scrawled it across the top of paper, “Right, so, what comes next?”

It took them the entire week to discover the perfect order to the show that they were creating.

**Act**

| 

**Source**  
  
---|---  
  
Façade

| 

Jekkyl and Hyde  
  
‘I can tell a hawk from a handsaw’

| 

Hamlet  
  
At the End of the Day

| 

Les Miserables  
  
On My Own

| 

Les Miserables  
  
Someone Like You

| 

Jekkyl and Hyde  
  
‘Get thee to a nunnery’

| 

Hamlet  
  
‘I would give you some violets…’

| 

Hamlet  
  
One Day More

| 

Les Miserables  
  
No Day but Today

| 

RENT  
  
Do You Hear the People Sing

| 

Les Miserables  
  
Good and Evil

| 

Jekkyl and Hyde  
  
Viva la vie Boheme

| 

RENT  
  
‘Out out brief candle’

| 

Macbeth  
  
Dangerous Game

| 

Jekkyl and Hyde  
  
What You Own

| 

RENT  
  
Happily Ever After

| 

Once Upon a Mattress  
  
I am a Rock

| 

Simon and Garfunkle  
  
Eight Mile

| 

Eight Mile  
  
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

| 

The Phantom of the Opera  
  
A Little Help from my Friends

| 

The Beatles  
  
Jade decided that no matter what order they did things in, there would have to be surprise ending that they engineered without Anne’s knowing. She already had an idea of what it would be.

Starting on the twelfth, the students in her class could audition for parts in the different pieces, keeping in mind that they would have to change costumes for each piece. Brittany disregarded this and auditioned for everything, sometimes to less than good results. The final listings were posted after auditions ended on Tuesday.

**Act**

| 

**Cast**  
  
---|---  
  
Façade

| 

Entire company  
  
‘I can tell a hawk from a handsaw’

| 

Harry as Rosencrantz, Neville as Guildenstern, Jonas as Hamlet  
  
At the End of the Day

| 

Entire company  
  
On My Own

| 

Ginny as Eponine  
  
Someone Like You

| 

Jade as Lucy  
  
‘Get thee to a nunnery’

| 

Draco as Hamlet, Hermione as Ophelia  
  
‘I would give you some violets…’

| 

Brittany as Ophelia, Susan as Gertrude, Crabbe as Claudius  
  
One Day More

| 

Entire company  
  
No Day but Today

| 

Elenore as Mimi, Ron as Roger  
  
Do You Hear the People Sing

| 

Entire company  
  
Good and Evil

| 

Jade as Lucy  
  
Viva la vie Boheme

| 

Entire company  
  
‘Out out brief candle’

| 

Zack as Macbeth  
  
Dangerous Game

| 

Jade as Lucy, Draco as Hyde  
  
What You Own

| 

Elenore as Mark, Susan as Roger  
  
Happily Ever After

| 

Ginny as Winifred the Woebegone  
  
I am a Rock

| 

Angel as Simon, Jonas as Garfunkle  
  
Eight Mile

| 

Goyle as Eminem  
  
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

| 

Ginny as Christine  
  
A Little Help from my Friends

| 

Entire company  
  
Anne had been pleasantly surprised to find that Goyle could rap. She had not found any of her students incapable of at least one part and assigned parts on skill to each student, not by favourites. Those who had received multiple parts had been the best choice for each of the characters needed.

Wednesday her class began to try to figure out a set design that could work for the entire piece- the thing took place in nineteenth century London and Paris, twentieth century New York, the fourteen hundreds, medieval Scotland and Denmark, modern Detroit, and nondescript or flexible locations. There were scenes from apartments and scenes from castles and graveyards all in one show without time for major set changes. The decided to keep it simple since the space they had to work with was not that large either. Jade proposed that the paint a mural the length of their backdrop starting on the left with the earliest scene and blending it up to the one that was most modern to display that despite the different eras, the themes were universal. Everyone agreed that they liked that idea. To furnish the set they would use three long tables and the chairs from the head table, arranging them as needed and using drapes to convert them from one thing to the next. Once again the odd mix of genres was to suggest universality in the themes of the production. 

Thursday was a more difficult day- they had to figure out the costuming. They were going to somehow create full nineteenth century poor and working class clothing to be used in most of the acts, yet they also had to create medieval wear for the Shakespeare scenes and they had to figure out what modern clothing they wanted for the RENT bits. For a few of the **_Jekkyl and Hyde_** scenes, Anne told them she wanted a gothic look. For the Eight Mile piece, they designed something that they thought would be found in a working man’s closet if he were a rapper, most of the students having never seen the movie. It was a fabulous class with wonderful results.

Friday they designed lighting scheme outlines after listening to each song and they tried to figure out if they would need microphones for all the acts or only some. Jonas loved his new submergence in theatre and decided that it was a new and grand hobby that he would like to pursue. Anne was very happy to have corrupted another mind to her cause of the theatre.

Starting on the nineteenth, Anne divided up her students into crews to begin working on the technical aspects of the show. They would work tech all that week and then they would alternate rehearsing and tech work in all subsequent weeks. She assigned crews to her students, “Our Running Crew this year consists of Crabbe, Goyle, Ron, Angel, Harry, Draco, Zack, and Brittany. Angel will be the crew head due to the extra training she has had through my theatre obsession. Running Crew will also be constructing the set. I will be running lighting and Professor Snape has agreed to run the sound board since all of you are needed in the show. Costumes Crew consists of Jonas, Hermione, Jade, and Ginny. Jadelyn will be heading that crew. Props Crew will not have a whole lot to do with this show, but it consists of Neville, Elenore, and Susan. Neville will be in charge of this crew. Crew heads, I expect you to run these democratically and not dictatorially. Each crew is expected to join the set builders if they have a spell when they do not have anything else to do or when they are done with their duties. If you have questions, first ask your crew head, and crew heads, if you don’t know, come and ask me. Crew heads, come and get the designs that were drafted last week and get to work. You have all week to get your projects started.”

On Friday it was Ursie’s sixth birthday, so Nigel brought her to the school to see her family. Anne’s class was in session when they arrived. Jonas was carrying an armload of muslin from the storage room to Jade’s room which had been designated as the Costume Shop when he saw them. He dropped the muslin in the middle of the hallway as she ran toward him, “Jonas!” He scooped her up and swung her around high in the air, “Ursie! Happy birthday, sweetie.” He gave her a quick kiss and set her down, “Hey Nigel. I am headed down to the Costume Shop. We are putting on a production and I am part of the Costumes Crew- I have to get this stuff to Jade.” He hefted the fabric from the floor and continued to the Costume Shop. Nigel and Ursie followed. Jonas dumped the pile of muslin on Jade’s bed. Ginny and Hermione both nodded to their guests as Ursie crept up behind Jade, “Boo!” she shouted. Jade jumped about a foot in the air before twirling around and swiping up her little sister, “Ursula Snape, you scared me!” she said with a laugh. Ursie giggled, “You jumped high.” Jade nodded, “These are my friends. That one in Ginny Weasley and that other one is Hermione Granger. Herm’, Gin’, this is my little sister Ursie and that behind you is my grandfather, Nigel.” They all chatted for a minute or so until Jade looked at the time, “Crew, we have barely a half an hour left and we are going to complete this mock-up today if it kills us. Ursie, how about you and Nigel try to find Uncle Severus, eh? He should be just two doors that way.” Ursie nodded enthusiastically and tugged Nigel from the room, “Come on, we have to find Uncle Severus! He can tell us how to find Anne and Angel!” Hermione shook her head and smiled as they left, “She is an absolute doll.” Ginny nodded her agreement, “And Nigel is such a gentleman.” Jonas laughed, “Yeah, our family may be screwed up beyond belief, but we are at least all friendly.” Jade grinned and hmpf’ed, “That we are, that we are.”

Ursie knocked on the Potions Lab door and waited for a moment. There was the scuff of a chair and footsteps approaching the door. Severus pulled the door open and found Ursie standing there in front of Nigel with her arms stretched up, beckoning for him to carry her. He picked her up as she said, “Today I am six.” He smiled, “Well happy birthday- did you already give Jadelyn and Jonas this news?” She nodded, “Can you help us find Anne and Angel and Draco so we can tell them too?” He nodded his response, “Indeed,” he turned his attention to Nigel, “How have things been back at the house?” Nigel shrugged, “Better than usual. Adelaide is off again somewhere so it is just Ursie, Chloë and I. We are having a great time, but she misses the rest of the family as well.” Severus understood, “Of course she would, but perhaps that will change next year.” Nigel was curious, but Severus did not offer any other explanation.

They arrived in Anne’s classroom to find Angel hauling an eight foot two by four with Draco from heaven only knows where out into the hall where they had set up a mitred saw. After they delivered their load to Harry at the saw, they both went to greet Ursie. Severus prompted her, “So, tell them your news….” She grinned as Anne walked out of the room, “Harry, here is the cut list for the bookshelf; send these two to haul what you need as soon as they are done here. The table saw is just down the hall.” Ursie waved to her, “Come here.” Anne joined them and Ursie made her announcement, “Today I am six!” Anne laughed, “Wonderful! Are you going to school now?” Ursie shook her head, “Nope, Granddad Nigel is teaching me with Chloë- I like math. I can count to one hundred, want to hear?” Anne smiled and Draco responded, “Sure, but after we hear you count, we have to get back to work, O.K.?” Ursie nodded and began to count, Anne, Draco, Angel, Nigel, Severus and Harry all patiently listening. She did well and they all clapped for her at the end. Severus handed her back to Nigel and returned to work in the Dungeons. Ursie stayed for dinner and sat on Jade’s lap at the head table. Angel sat with Draco and Nigel at the Slytherin table. One Slytherin proceeded to make some sort of age remark about Nigel. Angel nearly replied when Nigel held up his hand, “He may think I am old, and why shouldn’t he? I am! The advantage is that I have not only gone through Hogwarts and know all the old tricks; I had children go through here and now grandchildren, so I know the new pranks too. Did I ever tell you what fun you can have with a chicken pot pie?” The Slytherin, one of the now fourth years who had caused so much trouble the year before, thought he would be clever. He picked up the pot pie in front of him and tossed it like a Frisbee down to Nigel, who caught it without damaging it in the least and set it down on the table, “Nice throw, but your aim was a little high- try aiming for my head next time, Lord knows it is a most obvious target.” Draco laughed. Angel made sure no one was looking and, with Nigel’s help, managed to fling four peas into the pest’s water glass before he turned to drink from it.

Ursie and Nigel returned home that evening on the Knight Bus, Ursie declaring it one of her best birthdays ever. Anne crashed into bed that night with sore muscles and tired eyes. Shop work was difficult, but she definitely was having fun.

The weekend went well, the crews spending some time each day working on their projects as Anne tried to make sense of a model of an abstract metal set piece they wanted to try to build out of wood and gave up, deciding that she would just teach a few people how to use the metal saw and the welding torch so they could actually build it from piping.

On Monday, January twenty-sixth, Hogwarts awoke to find a blizzard wreaking havoc on the outside world. It continued for the entire week, the snow reaching the third floor windows, fully buttressed ice tunnels starting from the castle and going to various places on the grounds thanks to Albus‘ personal flair. Anne’s class was unaffected by this. On Saturday, Anne and her family, including Draco, climbed out of a third story window and ran out on the snow where they knew there were no tunnels. More than once Anne or Severus had to levitate one of the others from the snow and once Severus had to retrieve Anne. They returned to the castle through the same window and shook off their clothes in the window frame so not to make a terrible mess that Filch would surely have their heads for. They went to the Great Hall that evening for dinner in the most informal manner, everyone sitting wherever they felt like. Anne and Minerva got to talk, Minerva asking how things were going with her and Severus. Anne answered happily and then posed her own question, “Why was the Quiddich season so condensed this year?” Minerva sighed, “We have been getting quite a lot of information from an unnamed source about Voldemort’s activities and we suspect that he is planning something horrible for Spring or early Summer. We wanted to limit the risk of student injury by keeping them on the ground during the suspected time.” Anne nodded, “Is your source perchance seeing a future relation of mine?” Minerva gave a curt jerk of her head to indicate Anne was correct in her assumption, “How do you know?” Anne shrugged, “He tells me things.” Minerva smiled, “I am glad that one has a family here to turn to- apparently his father can be quite violent and the boy doesn’t dare tell his father a thing.” Anne glanced out at the students, “I think it is one of the reasons that his lady took such a liking to him as they got to know each other- she has neither parent, but Nigel is like a father to her. Her lad has his mother to talk to. They know what it feels like to be alone and on the outside, both of them expected to be what they want to be the least.” Minerva nodded and ended the conversation as Severus sat down beside Anne.

Sunday the students were getting restless from being trapped inside, so on Monday, February second, she took them out of the third story window and onto the snow, setting down a few rules on what to do if someone sank in the snow, and letting them free to play. It was back to work for the rest of the week.

On Saturday, Severus came to Anne, “Lise, there are rumours going on that there are students using the room of requirement for less than appropriate ends and it has been elected that the staff is going to conduct a raid tonight. Do you wish to come?” Anne nodded, “If you will need me to.” Severus continued, “I am in charge of forming the sort of special operations team that will infiltrate- you are the first person who has consented. Trelawney fears ill results, she predicts failure, and Albus cannot make it due to Ministry meetings that he has to attend in London. Minerva is next on my asking list, but Flitwick was not comfortable with the idea and Binns sees no point in it. Terlynise is sick with a cold and refuses to take anything for it while Sprout has work to do in the greenhouse with a nocturnal plant. I am running out of options.” Anne tilted her head in thought, “Jade loves raids and I am sure that some of the ghosts might be willing to help.” Severus shook his head and went off to recruit more aid.

That night, Severus, Anne, Jade, Minerva, and Filch (with Mrs. Norris) all met in the corridor well after hours. Jade wrenched open the door as Minerva and Severus burst into the room of requirement. Two very embarrassed and startled Slytherin students lay on the bed, the girl down to her bra and underpants while the boy was still fairly clothed. Snape raised an eyebrow, “This might just be the end of both your Hogwarts careers…I hope you two really think it was worth the hell your parents are going to give you, let alone when the Ministry finds out.” Minerva shook her head, “You are going to be expelled- get dressed.” The girl did. Filch looked disgusted and yet somehow still very pleased with himself for notifying the staff of this particular problem. 

On Sunday, Angel sat in the Potions Lab for a portrait, her hair braided, little wisps framing her face, wearing a medieval dress and a smock style overdress that Jade had worn as a child. Six days later, Anne sat for a portrait in front of the lake. Severus loved posing Anne in just the perfect position so the sun glistened off her face and her long dress pooled around her in the daisies, her head tilted back so her hair cascaded in a waterfall down her back. 

Sunday, February fifteenth- Severus had, as usual, ended up with Valentine’s Day hall monitoring the night before and had hated it, as usual, chasing couples from their supposedly hidden places in the school, including the Astronomy tower. Anne made up for the awful night by cooking a big breakfast for the whole family and challenging everyone to a game of Lord of the Rings Risk in the room of requirement that evening. The challenge was accepted.

Harry wandered down the hallway just before curfew. He heard noise coming from the room of requirement and his thoughts first drifted back on the students who had been caught in an ‘indecent situation’ a week ago. He sighed; he really should warn whoever was in there now. He knocked and didn’t get any response, so he knocked again. Still there was no answer, so he slowly pushed the door open to discover himself in what looked like a very scary room. He closed the door behind him- the room was all black with gothic buttresses around the walls and a very odd black chair off to one side. He heard a voice, “Ha! Jade, I challenge you for control of this realm- Sauruman or not, I am the ruler of Isengard now!” Harry then saw Anne, Angel, Jade, Severus, and Draco all sitting around their game in the centre of the room. Jade laughed, “You and what army?” Angel stopped for a moment, and then came back with a ridiculous retort, “The KISS army! Ha, so there.” Anne began to sing, “I wanna rock and roll all night, and party every day!” Angel did somehow emerge victorious, “Jade, go back to Gondor where you belong!” Severus laughed and noticed Harry, “Come in, Potter. Join us if you wish. We are playing in pairs and Draco needs a team mate if you are up to the challenge.” Harry shrugged, “Sure!” He made his way to them as the room shifted to look like Elrond’s library in Rivendell and the team of Anne and Jade ended their turn, moving on to the team of Harry and Draco. Draco asked his new partner, “You ever played this before, mate?” Harry shook his head and Draco grinned, “Neither did I until Christmas- great game- you’ll catch on fast.”

Severus’ birthday came on the seventeenth and the family (including Draco) met in Slytherin house for a big dinner that Anne and Jade cooked. They ate while the others were in the Great Hall and had a wonderful time joking around. Angel had frosted the cake Anne baked and it tasted wonderful despite the odd patterns and colours in the frosting on top. Jade mentioned that it looked like a hippy cake. Jonas agreed.

February concluded with the sets done and the lines memorized for Anne’s show. The students were doing very well and they were ahead of schedule. On Sunday, February twenty-ninth (leap year!), Anne and Severus finalized things for the wedding and made sure that all the invitations Anne had sent the week before had covered all the guests on the list. Angel went leaping down the hallways of the school to celebrate a leap year. Everyone found her quite amusing except for the three fourth year Slytherins who had everything against the Snape family. Unfortunately none of them had been expelled yet, but Anne knew Severus was trying.

Monday, March first brought more rehearsals, but nothing of huge interest. Anne was busy every hour of the day, getting her class ready and making sure that everything that had to be completed for the wedding was done according to her and Severus’ plans. On the twelfth, Anne announced that there would be no class Monday and Tuesday next week so she could work on things for the wedding, along with Wednesday when the wedding was going to take place.

The weekend was chaotic, but the girls from Hell (Lanie, Al, Britta, Rah, and Kat) all arrived as the ‘decorating brigade from Hell’ and set to work, helping Anne in every way possible with the detail work while Severus argued with Fudge, finally ending the dispute by slamming a door inches from his face after saying in a determinedly cold tone, “My wedding occurs on March seventeenth whether you approve or not, and if you dare interrupt it, I will unleash the demons of Hades on your heals before you know what hit you.”

Hogwarts cancelled all classes Monday through Wednesday, everyone pitching in to help set up the wedding and form crews that would quickly transform the Great Hall from a chapel to the reception hall. Anne had no idea how it all fell into place, but she found herself on Wednesday standing before a mirror in the dressing chamber that had been designated near the Great Hall. She slipped into the white dress that had once been intended for Vanessa and had Angel lace up the back. It fit snugly at the bodice and flared to full in the skirt, the straps lying just off her shoulders. She was nervous, but very happy, not caring that her Dark Mark was slightly visible under the plain chiffon band that she had tied around it, decorating the knot with a small sprig of daisies and letting the tails of the chiffon hang down to the tips of her fingers. Her bridesmaids entered, Jade, Britta, and Rah, each one of them wearing teal dresses in the same style as Anne’s gown, but theirs ended just above their ankles while Anne’s skirt dusted the floor, a short train trailing three feet behind her. Jade began to weave daisies in a crown around Anne’s head. Angel, the flower girl, entered the room in pale violet, with her helper, Kat, and Ursie followed in a matching dress with her helper, Lanie. Ursie was the ring bearer girl, as she called herself. Jade, as the maid of honour, lined everyone up and made sure Anne had her bouquet and everything for the ceremony and then checked to make sure that Angel had her flower basket and Ursie had the little white satin pillow with the rings laying in a little pocket on it. A gold ‘S’ was embroidered on one corner of the pillow, and Nigel had given it to Anne for the wedding, telling her that it had been in his wife’s family for generations. As Jade nodded to Anne, it was time for the wedding to begin.

Severus and his men (Nigel as the best man, Jonas and Draco as his groomsmen) stood on the platform in the front of the Great Hall awaiting the entrance of the women. Albus stood in the centre, officiating over the ceremony, and smiled down the aisle. Severus heard the music start, his lady having chose to walk down the aisle to Loreena McKennitt’s **_Prologue_**. Anne appeared, everyone turned to watch, and Severus felt his heart spring into his throat- she was absolutely stunning. 

After everyone had entered, Albus made a greeting, “We are gathered here on this beautiful Saint Patrick’s Day to celebrate the joyous union of two of our own, Severus and Anne. Let us pray at this time for their happy future.”

Al sang a lovely version of **_Seasons of Love_** during the wedding- Anne smiled broadly, that song had been the Girls from Hell’s theme song since they first had heard it many years before.

After that, Anne hardly knew what all happened around her. Voldemort could have waltzed into the room in a Hawaiian shirt and Capri’s and she would not have noticed. It was soon that Albus nodded to Severus, “Do you, Severus Victor Snape, take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife…” A short time later, it was Anne’s turn, “Do you, Annelise Marrion Schetzek…”

Before Severus could believe it, he heard Albus say, “I now pronounce you man and wife. Severus, you may kiss the bride.”

Anne melted with the kiss, pulling away breathless as the crowd rose to its feet in cheers. Anne grinned at Severus and their exit music started. It was a wonderful moment as Anne walked happily up the aisle with her husband to the tune of **_The Wearing of the Green_** , even though no one in the wedding party wore green. 

Anne and Severus arrived outside of the room and she sprang into his arms laughing. He kissed her briefly and then spoke, “Well, come on, we have to get outside to release the doves.”

After Anne and Severus released the doves, the entire wedding party and the guests made their way back inside to the Great Hall that had been very quickly transformed into a dining hall with circular tables for the guests, the head table for the wedding party, and the doors spread open so the entry way was for dancing. The guests were large in number, the student body and the staff comprising of most of it, but adding in Al and Daniel from Anne’s life, the rest of the Snape family (except the absent Adelaide), the MacCumhail’s, and a few others, such as the Weasley family.

They danced long into the night, Anne and Severus waltzing alone to a classical piece that they had chosen. The dollar dance (where one could pay a dollar to dance with the bride) was fun because Anne and Severus had chosen to play **_Sweet Emotion_** by Aerosmith.

That night, Anne and Severus left the reception in an open carriage manned by two pure black horses with a trunk for the each of them. Where they were going, only Severus knew, as he was the driver. Anne called to him, “What destination?” He pulled off to the side of the road, “One not far from here, but you must be blindfolded as we approach so it is truly a surprise.” She agreed and they continued on.

Anne rode in darkness, feeling the wind whisk past her as they rode on. Being blindfolded, she could not gaze at the scenery, so she thought of the rest of the day. It had been marvellous, Angel singing at the reception. Anne reflected on how darling it had been hearing her daughter singing the lyric, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?” They had tossed the bouquet just before they had left and Jade had caught it. She had winked at Draco and tucked one of the black-eyed susans into his second button hole. She had given her daisy crown to Angel. She smiled; it was fun to have a day when a sea of people parted when you passed, as they did when she and Severus had left. She had seen the horses and wondered where he had found pure black horses, they being especially rare. She had not asked; rather let the mystery of it be part of the fun. She now rode to somewhere unfamiliar and unknown.

A few hours later, Severus slowed the horses and spoke, “Lise, you can remove your blindfold now.” Anne did as she was asked and folded it in her lap. As her eyes adjusted to the bright moonlight, she found herself approaching a huge dark mansion, looking very Gothic and mysterious. To her left was a slope down to a forest and a familiar looking house and on her right was the mansion itself. She squinted ever so slightly and could make out a barn and garden at the base of the slope. It was then that she realised what she was seeing- below her was Nigel’s house and before her was the house on top of the hill that no one ever saw who lived there, “Severus?” He pulled the carriage to the front door, “Milady, this is my home.” She gasped in delight, “This? This is astounding!” Severus helped her from the carriage and let her into the front door, levitating the trunks in also, “Wait here for a moment, Lise, I have to put the horses away.” She nodded and looked around.

She stood in a large entry hall with grand stone buttresses framing the room and an iron chandelier hanging above. Between the grey buttresses hung tapestries of medieval battles, daily life, and court. At the end of the hall there was a grand staircase still of stone. Under each tapestry was a door. Shortly after, Severus returned, “Welcome. The doors on each side lead into other halls. They are empty. Under the staircase is another door, accessed by the sides, and that leads to the kitchens and dining hall. Come, we go upstairs.” He levitated the trunks ahead of them and then told her to stop a moment while he took care of them. He then led her to what was now their bedroom. She undressed down to her slip and stood in front of her husband. He gathered her to him and kissed her slowly. Reality faded away as she felt him lower her onto the bed.

Anne awoke the next morning near eleven to find Severus already up and dressed. He slipped from the room and returned with breakfast for her, “How are you feeling this morning, Lisie?” She smiled and stretched, “Wonderful, love- yourself?” He smiled, “I haven’t felt this good in years.” They ate together in happy silence and he took the breakfast things to the door when they were done, a house-elf waiting for him, “Gretchen, thank you- you are dismissed until we are ready for lunch.” He came back to Anne and grinned, leaning in to kiss her cheek, “You are beautiful.” She blushed slightly, “That may be a slight overstatement, Severus.” He shook his head, “Sorry, I don’t believe it is, Lisie.” She smacked him with a pillow, “I think last night made you go daft.” He grinned, “No matter how amazing last night was, I am not daft.” He began to tickle her mercilessly, “I am not daft- say I’m not daft!” She was laughing so hard she could not respond; only try to tickle him back. She squirmed away unsuccessfully, and found herself tangled in the bed coverings and laying on her stomach. She lay her head down on the pillow and caught her breath as he stopped tickling her.

Severus watched his wife calm herself, taking in every detail of her form. He noticed for the first time that the skin on her back was not perfect and pale such as the rest of her body. He pushed her hair aside and drew the blankets down to trace his fingers over long scars, “Lisie, what is this?” She did not answer him as her thoughts shifted from all the perfect bliss of their wedding to the past from which her scars stemmed. He recalled the only other time he had seen her slightly unclothed- when he had brought her his bathrobe that summer after being caught in the rain. It had been so dimly lit in that room and her hair had hung down so far that he had not noticed her back. He tried to think what could have caused her this pain and recalled his own past. He thought through his history and realised that he had been whipped by Voldemort for disobedience. It struck him as horrific that she may have fallen victim to such cruelty. It was one thing to torture a man, but a woman? He knew that his thoughts would have sounded sexist if spoken, but he was still an old fashioned sort who believed in mercy for the women and children. According to Voldemort though, much like the Nazi’s, if a woman or child could not give him anything or provide useful to him, there was no reason to keep them alive, the same as any man. Severus bent down over her and kissed her shoulder, whispering, “Lisie, tell me…who did this to you?” She finally answered, “Voldemort’s people- it was for failure…a few different times.” Severus gently stroked her bare back, “Love, no failure is bad enough to have to go through this. I suffered the same.” Anne pulled the blankets up to cover herself and the scars in question, “I know.” Their conversation ended. Anne sat up and wrapped Severus’ bathrobe around her, heading off to her trunk so she could find something to wear. Severus was left sitting on the bed alone, thinking that unfortunately he and she shared another commonality in their relations with Voldemort.

That day, Severus showed Anne around his home. It was a wonderfully grand place with many rooms for anything one could think of. She met his house elves, Gretchen, Terence, Arielle, and Tom. They were absolutely delighted when she asked if she could cook with them and teach them the recipes for some of her more unusual dishes. After exploring the above ground levels, Severus took her into the lower levels of the house, “Long ago, this dungeon was fully functional, according to the previous owners. There is a long history behind some of the uses of this place, but it is now merely a place to use as storage and a nice place to come on days when people seem to be calling that you do not know and would rather not speak to.” She thought the dungeon fascinating, “The kids will love this place…”

The next day, Anne wandered around the mansion and discovered that one of the upstairs rooms was not empty. She stood in a room all decorated in shades of red and black, the ebony wood furniture and the black marble fireplace creating a fairly ominous look to the room. She stared at the portrait hanging above the fireplace. The woman’s visage was akin to that of Josephine. Severus entered from behind her, “That is Josephine’s mother. This house belonged to her and was handed on to Josephine on Lydia (the woman in the portrait)’s death. When Josephine died, she left the house to me. We had never lived in it, and Josephine had moved out on her own after she finished her schooling. The house had been empty for some time when I moved in here after I left the Dark Arts.” Anne smiled, “Lydia is beautiful. This room feels very much like a woman’s hideaway- do you mind if I make it that?” Severus shook his head, “Not in the least- go ahead, this room is yours to do with what you wish.” Anne hugged him briefly, “Thank you!” Anne explored the house more with Severus. She found a tiny room off in a quiet corner, “I have never known what that room was for, the bed is only large enough for one, but it is away from the other bedrooms and without any other furniture besides that small, hip height table and the chair by the bed.” Anne looked around and then looked under the bed. She pulled out a box and opened it, finding within a fleece blanket, baby’s cap, baby booties, cloth diapers, and a book on caring for newborns. She also found a shallow basket under the bed, “Severus, by the looks of these, I would guess this is a birthing room- you know, when the midwife would come to the house, this is where she would deliver the mistresses baby.” Severus nodded, “You may be correct.”

That night, after searching the dungeons, Severus carried Anne to the bathroom, undressed her, and lowered into a hot bath. Anne sighed happily- his gentle hands on her skin was one of the most wonderful things she could think of, other than her little Angel falling asleep in her arms.

On the twentieth, their last full day at the house, Anne explored the uppermost floor. She found a tapestry family tree of Josephine’s family and she perused over it curiously. One name caught her eye, ‘Claudius Matthews III’. Anne noticed his line was not continued on the tapestry, a note pinned to the tapestry by his name stating in graceful calligraphy that Claudius had sailed for America and it was unknown where he had gotten off to. Anne called to Severus, “Come up here…this is really odd.” Severus looked at the tapestry, “What is odd?” Anne pointed to the name, “There is a Claudius Matthews III in my family- he is the one who copied the Christmas and Easter Stories into those big books Angel and I read on the holidays. If he were to be the same person, that would mean he was Josephine’s so-many great-uncle. That would be fairly strange.” Severus shrugged, “She did mention that one of her family members left for America with the intention of studying Christianity there and write his interpretations of the faith. She told me it was this Claudius fellow who left in the eighteen fifties. Does that fit the timeline of the man in your family?” Anne nodded. Severus shrugged, “Then you were related to my first wife, and unless you have other relations still overseas, the house would be yours- there is no one left off the other branches of the family and so it leave’s Claudius III’s to work with.” Anne shook her head, “Weird….” She was, for some reason, drawn to pull aside the tapestry. Severus wondered if perhaps the dust had gotten to her head. Her action did not prove in vain- behind it was a medieval looking wooden door. She swung it inward and found herself facing a wooden staircase going up. She cautiously ascended and found herself in a very strange room filled with trunks, golden objects, and a few other things that were unknown to her. She wandered around for a while until Severus followed with a lamp, “What did you find? I did not even know this room existed.” She picked up what looked like a very old notebook and read, “I, Nadine Matthews begin this journal as a log for my husband Claudius II. While he is off at sea I intend to record all that he has collected in his years of piracy. Our son, Claudius III, is doing well. I will begin by making a list and tallying the number of those items beside it. This should be interesting. I wonder if I will find where his first pistol made off too….” Anne stopped reading, “Severus, did you realise that your first wife’s family was wealthy from piracy?” He shook his head, “Not in the least- I have never been up here before and she did not often talk about her family.” Anne shook her head in wonder of all the things in front of her, “Angel is going to love this…”

Early the next morning, Severus woke Anne and they travelled back to Hogwarts. Anne found her room in not too terrible shape and set to cleaning the small mess that Angel had made on top of the table. Angel bounced into the room that evening, “Mum! You’re home! Where’s Dad?” Anne hugged her child, “Your father is in the Potions Lab getting ready for tomorrow- did everything go well while I was away?” Angel nodded, “The show is really going well- everyone is off book and we got most of the set changes incorporated into the scenes so the running crew keeps pretty well hidden, even when we are onstage during an act. Jade made and hung a set of curtains for us so we can close and open the main travellers during the show. She got the lighting rigged with Draco, Harry, and Zack and it has just stayed there. Her valence curtain covers it nicely. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised on how well it runs when you see it Monday.” Anne nodded, “I am sure that I will approve- now shoot on over to see your father while I finish up here- I just have to get the table wiped down and then we can all go to dinner.” Angel nodded and bounded next door.

Monday, March twenty-second: Anne saw the play for the first time in a week. She loved it. She made a few very minor alterations, but other than those, she thought the show was ready to open. She and Severus ran the lighting and the sound boards. All was well. They had their second dress rehearsal on Saturday and on Sunday Anne was ready for a break. She and Severus wandered around the grounds with Angel, Jonas, Jade, and Draco all day, bringing a picnic lunch, but returning indoors for dinner. 

On the twenty-ninth, Anne’s class had their last dress rehearsal, “I know all of you are slightly nervous about opening the show, but because we start small and get bigger as the week gets on, we should be less nervous each night. We start tomorrow with what you may think is your hardest crowd: the staff and students of Hogwarts School. I want you to go to your dorms, get a good night’s sleep, and meet behind the Great Hall in our preparation area at six o’clock when we will take an early dinner of pasta- good energy food that won’t rile up your stomachs. Then at seven you will get into costume and makeup to be ready for warm-ups at seven-thirty. Dinner for the rest of the students will run from six-thirty until seven-thirty when Albus will make sure that the Hall is cleared. The house elves have been instructed to set up the theatre and the electrics crew will set up their equipment at this time, as will sets crew. All set up will be completed by seven-fifty when we will open the house. The elves have assured me they can work in this time frame. We will begin the show at the standard New York start time of eight-oh-one. Now that you know our time frame, please be on time. Now go get some rest and I will see you tomorrow.”

Everything went as planned on opening night. Anne charmed the curtain to open at the proper time and the show began, the entire company dressed in gothic Victorian costumes and singing the main theme to **_Jekkyl and Hyde_**. Anne smiled as the acts blended perfectly together, the Running crew hidden within the scene so that when they left the stage for the first **_Hamlet_** scene, the transition had taken place without the audience noticing. All of the acts were wonderful, but Anne was especially taken by **_Dangerous Game_** with Jade and Draco. They worked well together onstage and they used their personal relationship as the basis of their character’s relations. However they did it, they were spectacular. They closed the show and took their bows, receiving a standing ovation from their audience. One night was over, four more had yet to come.

The next day, Anne received letters from the staff and students on her classroom door giving congratulations on the show. She also received a less happy piece of news from Severus, “Lise, I got a letter from Nigel today- apparently Adelaide was caught in a Death Eater meeting out in the country where the Ministry had set up a stake-out point. She has been taken in for questioning and Nigel here tells me it is likely she may end up in Azkaban. I am sorry to say it, that I might sound heartless, but this news does me no illness.” Anne shook her head, “I thought she might end up out there- I only hope that they can find another way than Azkaban…”

That evening all was forgotten as the cast and crew frantically prepared for their Ministry showing. Draco was especially nervous. Anne and Severus took their spots and at the proper time, Anne raised the curtain and the show began. Draco was a bit shaky in his first lines of soliloquy, but became more comfortable in the role as he became his character. Anne could see why, he was picturing himself as the persecuted son of a dead father and merciless uncle whose mother was the same victim he was. It wasn’t a terribly far stretch. When he and Jade went onstage for their duet, Anne was nervous- Lucius didn’t approve of the match and she was worried he would try to pull something during their act. The instant his son began to sing, the entire crowd fell into stunned reverence, especially when Jade added her voice to his. They received a standing ovation from everyone but Lucius. 

The next day, Anne read reviews in the paper about the show. Fudge mentioned that despite the producer/director, the show was surprisingly fresh with stellar performances from Ginny Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter. He did not mention Jade. That was all right, the other reviews made up for it. Hermione and Neville were praised as the actors that most surprised the Ministry with their skill and Jonas was plugged as the best new actor at Hogwarts. Someone said that Goyle should replace Eminem, that Zack would make a nice addition to the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Susan and Elenore should be in musicals. Angel was called the most energetic actress to hit Hogwarts and Brittany was only mentioned once as the prettiest face in a review by her Uncle Lucius.

They opened for the public that night, the first of April, and ran until the third without a hitch and with rave reviews and a packed house each night. On the last night, nearly every student, staff member, Ministry representative (including Alabama), and adoring public packed the Great Hall beyond full to see them close out the show. At the end of the show, Jade came in front of the curtain, “As in years prior, we would like to thank the folks who made this possible. Anne and Severus Snape, who will be celebrating their one month anniversary on the seventeenth of this month, were both influential in our production. Not only are they running our electrical systems, but they both aided in our set construction, character analysis and creation, costumes, production designs, and they continuously gave us constructive feedback and criticism on our work, both onstage and off. To thank them for this, we would like to present one more piece. The cast is currently readying themselves backstage, and now I must join them. Please don’t mind the short wait, we will be our shortly.” Jade disappeared behind the curtain. The audience waited patiently as Anne dimmed the house lights again and waited for Jade to cue her on what to do next. Since, as all tech crews have, there was a headset system rigged up from backstage to the lighting and sound deck for quiet communication, Anne paged Severus, “Did she tell you she was going to be doing anything like this? I wonder what she has up her sleeve this time….”

They did not have to wait long. The curtain rose again and the entire cast stood onstage in various costumes from the production. Jade stood stage right with Zack while Draco stood stage left with Ginny. The rest of the cast filled in the space between. A grand piano had been brought to the centre of the stage and was oriented sideways, Jonas sitting at it with Angel, his little page-turner. He played an introduction and then Jade and Ginny sang,

“ _When you're weary, feeling small,_

_When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;_

_I'm on your side. When times get rough_

_And friends just can't be found_ ,”

The entire cast joined in the chorus,

“ _Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will lay me down._

_Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will lay me down_.”

Draco and Zack sang the next verse,

“ _When you're down and out,_

_When you're on the street,_

_When evening falls so hard_

_I will comfort you._

_I'll take your part._

_When darkness comes_

_And pains is all around_ ,”

Once again the cast sang the chorus,

“ _Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will lay me down._

_Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will lay me down_.”

They continued to sing to the end of the song,

“ _Sail on silvergirl,_

_Sail on by._

_Your time has come to shine._

_All your dreams are on their way._

_See how they shine._

_If you need a friend_

_I'm sailing right behind._

_Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will ease your mind._

_Like a bridge over troubled water_

_I will ease your mind_.”

After Jonas finished off the song, Jade gestured to Anne and Severus, “Our bridges over troubled water- give them a hand, they deserve it.” The audience applauded long and loud, ending only when Jade spoke again, “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming and have a good night, we hope to see you back again next year! Thank you!” The curtain fell; the audience applauded once more, and then began to filter out, many of them stopping to congratulate Anne and Severus for their marriage and for the wonderful production.

That Sunday, the cast and crew tore down their set and replaced the Head Table to its proper place in the Great Hall. After their work was done, taking care of everything they had used, Anne threw a cast party in the dungeons. Everyone left around ten o’clock so they could get enough sleep for classes the next day. Late that night, Jade, Anne, Angel, Severus, and Draco sat up and read the Palm Sunday story from a manuscript Anne had found in her belongings that was written by none other than Claudius Matthews III. 

Monday, Anne took her class out to the greenhouses to see what was growing and perhaps lend a hand to Professor Sprout. Their help was instantaneously employed and Anne found herself watering a strangely familiar plant. It looked like the geraniums she had had on her porch back in Hell. She stroked the plant’s leaves and it seemed to recoil. It bit her. Anne was surprised, “Ack! What the hell was that?!” Professor Sprout took a look at Anne’s hand, “That was a fanged geranium- a nasty little beast when he wants to be- go have Poppy take a look at this, I will keep them busy until you get back.”

Anne returned an hour later with her hand back to normal. She stayed away from the fanged geranium. Jade, however, took a liking to it, “Anne, this is so cool- do you think I could have one in my chambers and train it to attack Lucius and Mould Man?” Anne laughed, “Right, if you can tame it first.” Jade took that as a challenge and, with Professor Sprout’s permission, began her attempt. She left the greenhouse that day with a new plant that she decided to keep in Anne’s classroom in the window.

April sixth, Anne discussed the rest of the term with her class, “Well, after today we will have the rest of the week off because of the Easter Holiday and the days around it that are also considered Holy. We will have class as usual on Monday and I will probably let you use the time as a study hour. I think that will be time well spent. After that, I have no idea what to do. Today is catch-up day for all that you missed because of the play. Use it wisely.”

Maundy Thursday was yet again commemorated with a Seder dinner. Severus, Angel, Jade, Draco, Jonas, Minerva, and Albus all attended the ceremony which Anne led, leaving one seat open, as in tradition, for the prophet Elijah. After the ceremonial part of the dinner, they all sat down to experience a traditional Jewish Passover meal. Angel found it very interesting, as did others present.

On Good Friday, Anne felt ill in the afternoon, wanting to sleep the day away. She could not do this, however, for she had a Good Friday reading that she and Angel were doing that evening for anyone who wished to attend. She fought to stay awake and decided that if it lasted more than a day, she would have to see Poppy.

The Good Friday reading went well and after it, the group (which consisted of the same attendees as the Seder) sat around Anne’s table and discussed what happened on Good Friday- what Jewish laws were broken, what officials were present and what effect each person mentioned had on the outcome. Draco still found this fascinating. He was particularly interested in the laws that were broken, “So Jesus was killed not only in one of the worst ways possible, but illegally too- because the trial was at night and all…right? Why didn’t anyone notice this? Was everyone against Jesus?” Angel answered his questions, “No one cared about the law- Jesus was making waves and they didn’t like that. It was disturbing their way of life and they thought it had to stop. It was illegal, yes, but no one noticed. Not everyone was against Jesus- the women and a few others stood at the foot of the Cross, but what could they do? Pilate didn’t want to hand over Christ, but he really had no other choice to avoid nasty political consequences, Joseph of Arimathaea gave up his tomb for Jesus’ body, all the folk who wept behind Jesus as he went to the Cross, one of the thieves crucified with Jesus understood and asked Jesus to remember him when they met again in Heaven and Jesus said that they would be together that day in Heaven, and lastly Pilate’s wife, according to the Gospel of Saint Matthew, told Pilate, ‘Have thou nothing to do with that just man: I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him’- so there were people who did not want to see Him die, they just really couldn’t do much about it. Women had low social standing, Pilate would have lost his head to the Pharisees and Sadducees, and really, a smattering of people could not stop a chanting crowd. It is sad, but the good thing is Easter came, so the Devil didn’t win.” Draco nodded, “Alright, I will think on this tonight- perhaps it will all make more sense come Easter morning.”

Anne did sleep all of Saturday away, except for when she woke of and became ill to her stomach.

Sunday started much better than Saturday had, so the Good Friday group gathered around the table in Anne’s room to read and discuss the Easter story together. Angel had an incredible knowledge of the Easter story and told it nearly from memory, Anne following along in the big book so she could interject anything Angel forgot, which turned out to be not much at all.

Later that day, Anne went to talk to Poppy about her illness. She left the hospital wing very happy and was seen whispering something to Severus outside of the Lab. Severus embraced her and then swung her around joyfully, but no one knew what for.

On Easter Monday, Severus did not assign any homework and was in an extremely good mood. No one knew why and he did not answer anyone who asked.

Anne’s class continued to meet despite the ending of their large project. There were mutterings gathered from the Ministry that Voldemort was on the move, so Anne, Jade, and Severus all answered questions that the students might have and gave them Anne’s class time to work on their Defence Against the Dark Arts work. The rest of the week was spent in much the same manner.

Monday, April nineteenth, things began to go downhill. Anne woke to not only her frequently queasy stomach, but the throbbing of her Dark Mark. To her dismay, Severus’ Dark Mark had started bothering him as well. She made her report to Albus.

Tuesday Anne woke with a start around four in the morning. She had dreamt that a line of Death Eaters had advanced on Hogwarts without them ready and destroyed the school and everyone in it. Anne could not get back to sleep, so she merely sat awake in bed and began to list off in her mind all the ways she could help fortify the school.

Later that day, Angel stopped in her tracks in the hall near Minerva’s classroom and stared off into space. After a few minutes she returned to reality and ducked into Minerva’s classroom where she was grading papers, “Professor McGonagall- I just had a prem’nition and I’ve gotta tell someone so I don’t forget.” Minerva laid aside her work and motioned for Angel to sit on the edge of the desk, “What did you see?” Angel closed her eyes, “I watched as a line of Death Eaters lead by Voldemort himself descended upon the school without any warning and destroyed it and all of us with it…we had no way to know and we weren’t ready.” Minerva shook her head, astonished, “Angelique, your mother reported having almost the same dream last night, are you sure you are not imagining that?” Angel’s eyes grew wide, “Mum had the same dream? I had no idea…. This is bad, very bad.”

On Wednesday, after Anne finally crawled out of bed around noon, she made her way to a classroom she had never visited, Divination. Angel had requested that she and her mother sit in on the highest Divination class Trelawney offered, wondering if they might perchance have their own experiences translated. Trelawney was thrilled to have them present. Partway through the class, she had Angel and Anne tell of their corresponding dreams and the class was allowed to interpret it as they may. Everyone thought it was a premonition, except for Angel, who insisted it was a warning. Angel then asked if she might read the tea leaves. Trelawney consented enthusiastically, wondering if the young girl would really see anything. Anne sat behind her daughter, “Ang, remember what I told you- it may not be your gift to see the possibilities of the future in all methods.” Angel nodded and then began to work, “I see a death- a release and freeing from evil, a new beginning, and a rebuilding. Someone close to our family will suffer a loss- a great one, at the hands of someone familiar to both victim and mourner. There will be a climax at the end of this year and the fates of all hang in the balance. Also, MSU will win the Rose Bowl next year.” Angel looked up at Trelawney, “That is all I can see in there. It all fits, except the MSU thing. I guess we just wait and see about that one, eh?” Trelawney nodded slowly- a strange glaze had drifted over her eyes and she fell to catatonia, “Angels meet demons and the dragons unite, the heir of all evil must chose where to fly. Nothing is possible where unity lies not, but unity itself will fall should one voice find the harmony too difficult to sing….” The room fell silent. No one moved. Trelawney awoke from whatever it was she had been in, “Angel, good reading. I cannot see such detail in the leaves since I am reading them up-side down from you.” Angel shook her head, “You have no idea that you just prophesied, do you?” Trelawney looked puzzled, “I did what again?” Anne picked up the question, “You went into a trance of some sort and became a channel through which the other world flowed.” “What did I say?” asked Trelawney. Angel closed her eyes and recalled, “Angels meet demons and the dragons unite, the heir of all evil must chose where to fly. Nothing is possible where unity lies not, but unity itself will fall should one voice find the harmony too difficult to sing….” One of the students was dazed, astounded by what she had heard, “What does it all mean?”

On Thursday, Draco came to Anne’s desk in class, “Anne- may I speak to you privately for a moment? There is a matter of great importance I need to discuss with you.” Anne nodded and put Severus, a near permanent fixture in her classroom, in charge. She stepped out into the hall and placed a charm around them so that no one else could hear the conversation, “What do you need, Draco?” He handed her a letter, “I got this from my mother this morning.” Anne took the letter. It was hastily scrawled unevenly on the back of a grocery list,

_Draco, love-_

_Your father is planning something awful and has threatened my life if I dare reveal it to you. Since I do not know exact details, I am unable to give you much warning, but please- be on your guard, tell others to do the same, and do not go anywhere alone. If you care about anyone there, tell them not to take any offers from anyone they do not trust entirely. I also warn you that he is going to go after Snape again- not your father, but the Dark Lord. He is coming, of this I am certain, and he is amassing an army to come with. I must go- your father returns._

_~Narcissa._

Anne sighed, “Do you mind if I take this to Albus?” Draco shook his head. Anne folded the letter, “Return to class- practice counter curses with Jade. I am going to see the Headmaster. After all we have seen and heard this week, the staff has to meet.”

Classes were cancelled Friday to allow the staff to meet and discuss the impending danger they were facing. Everyone agreed that caution was necessary, but some were far more passive than others. Minerva wanted to fortify, as did Anne, Severus, Jade, and Terlynise. Many others favoured a more indirect manner of approach in which the students were kept mostly in the dark. Albus finally rose to make a decision, “The students will be informed of the danger approaching and those of you who wish to take an active approach in defending them are invited to do what you can together. The rest of you I advise to think about what is best for this institution. I will be sending out owls to three friends to help us- Moody, Lupin, and Black.” Severus cringed.

On Monday, April twenty-sixth, Anne met with the three helps, “Hello- I am Annelise Snape and this is my niece, Jadelyn Riddle, our Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor Terlynise Adrians, and my daughter, Angel LeFay. We, along with Minerva and my husband, are forming a group which will aim to fortify the students against an attack by, as Jade has called them, ‘Daddy V. and the D.E.’s’. I am hoping that in working together we can get the student body ready for whatever may come at us. Without further adieu, let us get to work.”

Tuesday, April twenty-seventh: After a meeting of what Jade had christened ‘The D.V.A.K.’- the Daddy V. Ass Kickers- Sirius Black requested to speak to Anne. She consented and, since classes had been cancelled due to another staff meeting, patiently waited for him to finish conversing with Remus Lupin. Lupin, she had been informed, was a werewolf- she had never worked with a werewolf before and was very happy to add this contact to her lifetime’s interactions. After Remus left, Sirius sat down with Anne, “I was wondering- is your husband the head of Slytherin house?” Anne laughed, “Sirius, how many Snapes do you believe dwell in this place? Indeed he is, and quite a character if I may say so myself.” Sirius nodded. Severus entered the Great Hall, “Lise? Are you-” he broke off mid-sentence as his eyes narrowed into a very deadly glare directed at Sirius, “You!” Anne sighed as Sirius rose. She had recalled as Albus had mentioned Black and Lupin that her husband had reacted to those two names as foes of his from his Hogwarts days. Apparently the old feud still lived. Sirius grinned, “Ah, Snivellus…now nice to see you again.” Anne smirked and muttered under her breath, “Real creative there, Sirius….” Severus ignored her, “Sirius, if you will please leave, I have come for my wife.” Sirius laughed, “Me? Leave? I would prefer not to. Anne and I were just having a little conversation when you entered, care to join us?” Severus muttered something about all Hell not being able to make him join Sirius. Anne cleared her throat, “Is something the matter? Cannot we make light of the past in preparation for the future?” Severus shook his head, “This man publicly humiliated me! It is because of his and his little friends’ torments that I turned from the path Nigel advised me on and became engrossed in the evil that consumed me. They pushed me to the edge and beyond. I die again with these memories each time he is in my presence.” Sirius snorted, “You need to relax a little. It was just a bit of fun, eh Snivellus?” Severus whipped out his wand, “You call me that one more time and I swear it will be the last thing you say.” Sirius shrugged as Harry brought Angel into the room, followed by Jonas, Jade, Draco, Ron, Zack, and Hermione, “There are worse things that could be my last words…Snivellus.” Anne stood abruptly, “That is enough, Sirius. Severus, lower the wand- you are not the only one who suffered injustices in your youth.” 

All eyes were on her as Sirius leaned on a table, “Did you have a nickname?” Anne shook her head, “That was not what bothered me. I was the quiet one- the girl who was out of place in any society- the picked on geek who wandered through the school halls with her eyes cast down to the floor as she walked, clutching an armload of books and a heavy backpack hanging off her shoulders. There were many times when a particularly nasty lot of students would trip me, throw things at me, or knock my books from my arms. My last year they decided it would be funny to not only knock my books over, but to scatter the papers down the halls or form a ring around me and push me about like a ping-pong ball, off balance from the load on my back and trying not to release the pile in my arms. These times, Lanie would usually come to my rescue. She would charge Britta and Rah with alerting the staff of the school, usually elsewhere, while she would burst into the circle and literally fight anyone who tried shove me. She was nearly expelled a few times, but with my testimony she was always commended for her loyalty instead. None of this compared to what happened on my last day of classes. This same gang watched me leave the school from the side door, as always, and jumped me. I dropped my books and they shoved me over, causing me to trip over the mess on the ground. I fell backwards and landed hard, my backpack severely bruising my spine. As I tried to recover, they kicked my sides until I managed to curl up into as tight as I could, lying on one side. They then dumped a bucket of butcher’s leavings on me- you know, old meat and blood. I am, as I was then, vegetarian, so not only was it just disgusting and embarrassing to lay there covered in something’s insides, but it was a direct affront to my beliefs. I sobbed- what could I do? My work was scattered under a sludge of gut and I was unable to walk home as I was. They laughed- the cold, cruel laughter that I later heard too often in Voldemort’s services. I could do nothing but to be the subject of their mockery. Then I heard a familiar voice yelling, “Get the ‘F‘ away from her!” It was Lanie. She ran out there as fast as her legs could carry her, yelling all the way. The gang continued laughing, failing to notice the attention that Lanie was drawing from within the building. The drama instructor had been passing when Lanie had started yelling and she followed Lanie. The gang members started running. They were gone before anyone could take names or anything. The drama instructor asked what she could do and Lanie told her to find Britta and Rah. It seemed like an eternity before the got there. Rah went to her car and dug out an unused gym towel and a medieval chemise she had for re-enactment purposes. Britta helped me up and wiped me down with her used gym towel- I really didn’t care. Lanie peeled my backpack off me and went to trying to salvage some of the papers on the ground. Britta and Rah snuck me into the locker room and I showered and changed into what Rah had found in her car. I threw my other clothes away- there was no purpose in keeping them. I returned outside to find that Lanie had removed everything from my backpack, recovered quite a few of the not-disgusting papers and had copied in note form the papers that she had been able to read from the mess. With all this, Rah drove me home, followed by Britta and Lanie. They told my mother what they could while I went to shower again. Mum was going to press charges, but the parents of the boys in the gang were all the sons of the local powerful families who could get away with anything and afford the lawyer we would have never been able to afford. It was that incident that decided for me that I would not attend Michigan State University; rather I would go overseas to Cambridge. I did not want to chance running into any of them again.”

Severus and Sirius both stared at her as though it was a wonder she was sane. Angel trotted over to her, “I wondered when you were going to tell Dad about that…but I think you put everyone here into shock.” Jonas came up to her next, “Anne, that really sucks.” Jade nodded, “It not only sucks, it is just plain cruel- what a bunch of heartless bastards!” Draco and the others were too stunned to respond. Severus held his wand at his side, “Aren’t you furious that you could not do anything about the situation? They were never punished for their crimes!” Anne shrugged, “The past is dead and gone- I cannot change what was done to me. Anger and hatred are awful ways to spend energy that could be used in much more wonderful ways. It is behind me. I have not needed retribution when I have seen that there was some good to come of it in the long run. That incident and those boys were what forced me overseas. Should I have never gone to Cambridge, I would not be the magically inclined lass who stands here now, strong and able to stand tall before her husband, daughter, and family to say that the long and winding road so tinged with evil has led me to good.” Sirius shook his head, “So you are telling me that you have forgiven that gang?” Anne nodded, “There is no reason not to- much time has passed and in my experience, if someone is so stupid that they cannot grow up and learn that destructive behaviour will eventually agitate someone who can turn about and return the act, then what is deserved is what is rightly gained. The old saying is ‘what goes around comes around’ and I have found it holding nothing but truth.” Severus laid his wand on the table and went before his wife, holding her close to him, “I am so sorry that you had to endure that…how do you ever have the strength to be so saintly in such matters?” She pulled away, a little smile on her face, “I do not do it alone- God has not left my side the entire journey, even when I ignored His presence.” Severus looked to Sirius, “I suppose since greater transgressions have been overlooked, I may attempt to pass over his for the sake of our common goal.” He extended his hand to Sirius who stared at him, aghast, “You have hated me for thirty years!” Severus nodded, “And now I look back on those who have set an example for me to follow- my father forgave me for murdering his eldest son and that family, my wife forgives a gang of high school terrors, she forgives me for many things, Jadelyn forgives Draco for all the harm he caused her, and Angel can forgive Annelise for killing Angel’s parents. If there is not a pattern here set to follow, I do not know what I should take as my example. I give up the grudge against all four of the Marauders.” Sirius accepted Severus’ handshake, stunned. Harry cheered, Angel gave hugs all around, Anne laughed, Ron, Zack, Draco, and Hermione joined Harry, while Jade and Jonas sang and played air-guitar,

_“Crazy, but that's how it goes_

_Millions of people living as foes_

_Maybe it's not too late_

_To learn how to love_

_And forget how to hate_

_Mental wounds not healing_

_Driving me insane_

_I'm going off the rails on a crazy train_

_I've listened to preachers_

_I've listened to fools_

_I've watched all the dropouts_

_Who make their own rules_

_One person conditioned to rule and control_

_The media sells it and you live the role_

_Mental wounds not healing_

_Who and what's to blame_

_I'm going off the rails on a crazy train_

_I know that things are going wrong for me_

_You gotta listen to my words_

_Yeah-h_

_Heirs of a cold war_

_That's what we've become_

_Inheriting troubles I'm mentally numb_

_Crazy, I just cannot bear_

_I'm living with something I don’t want to share_

_Mental wounds aren’t healing_

_Driving me insane_

_I'm going off the rails on a crazy train”_

Anne laughed, “Leave it to you two to sing Ozzy as the ultimate song of forgiveness….”

Over the few days prior to the re-meeting of Severus and Sirius, Anne had given up wearing her form fitted dresses in favour of flowing robed and dresses. This was noted by Lucius Malfoy who showed up most unexpectedly on the twenty-eighth. Anne sat in the Great Hall after lunch and waited there for Sirius. They had been discussing the possibility of an attack from Azkaban and needed his expert opinion on the subject, so Anne was playing a sort of Ambassadorial role. Lucius entered the room, “Annelise…fancy meeting you here.”

Anne nodded a curt acknowledgement, “I should say the same for you. What business brings you to Hogwarts?” He stood in front of her, “Family- you?” Severus and Sirius entered the room as Anne answered, “Military.” He had not noticed the other two men enter the room, “You know, the offer still stands….” Anne sighed, “And I still say no- how many times will I have to deny you before you will realise that ‘no’ means ‘I won’t even consider it- stop trying’?” He spoke low and threateningly, “Annelise, I will not hesitate to reign down Hell itself upon both yourself and your _husband_ should the need arise.” Anne kept her cool, “And I will not hesitate to pour out the wrath of God upon you, should the need arise.” Lucius shook his head, “Woman, do not defy me.” Her eyes, now green, grew cold, “ _Man_ ,” she spat, “Do not challenge me.” He was not pleased, “Woman, you try my patience, either you will reconsider all that you have denied the Dark Lord and myself or you will suffer a fate worse than death!” Anne grinned, “Bring it on.” Lucius slapped her. She hardly flinched. Immediately she noticed that both Severus and Sirius had drawn their wands in her defence and were ready to kill Lucius if they had to. She motioned for them to lower their weapons and rose tall, “Should you raise a hand against me one more time, as you so often did in the days of old, I will no longer consider it deserved punishment, I will fight back and I will do it as maliciously as I wish.” Lucius shoved her backwards, but she regained her footing quickly, “That is it- have you no respect for me? I can kill you instantaneously if I wish- do you not realise this?” He sneered at her, “Do you threaten me? Woman, you, along with the rest of your sex, are just an annoying distraction to me. I feel nothing for any of you but contempt.” Sirius joined in the conversation, “Especially since what happened with Narcissa…am I right?” Anne gave Lucius a challenging look, her right eyebrow rising in question, “Narcissa? What is this, do you have a little secret?” Sirius really had a wicked look on his face as he spat out, “It’s not really a secret- everyone who ever had contact with either of them know it was a shotgun wedding. Lucius and Narcissa weren’t married when Draco was first conceived…and Draco knows that Lucius never cared for Narcissa other than for his own pleasures. Draco was a mistake and Lucius was forced to marry Narcissa by the Black family.” Lucius looked like he was going to kill Sirius. It was then that Jade entered in through the door by the Head Table, pulling Draco behind her, Jonas and Angel bringing up the rear. Jade marched up behind Lucius and yanked his perfect pulled-back hair hard. His head snapped back and Jade snarled, “You are a scum sucking bastard whose ass I will kick if you dare to raise a hand against your son again.” Jonas and Draco walked forward along with Angel holding Draco’s hand. Draco had not raised his face and Jade had not released Lucius. Anne spoke to Jade, “Let him go, dear. Take Angel to her father.” Jade gave Lucius’ hair a yank and then shoved him forward. She scooped up Angel, kissed Draco’s cheek very gently, and then went to stand beside Severus. Lucius recovered and turned on his son, “What did you tell that whore?!” Draco kept his eyes lowered and did not answer. Lucius slapped Draco, “Boy, you will answer me or suffer the consequences.” Anne walked over Jonas by Draco. As she did, Lucius brought his hand back to strike Draco again. His fist flew forward, but was stopped by a firm hand that gripped Lucius’ wrist tightly. It was Jonas. His black eyes burned like dark coals glimmering with the anger of his soul, “I wouldn’t do that again, Mr. Malfoy.” Anne stopped, she had never seen Jonas angered before, but he was, to her, just as intimidating as Severus- their eyes both had the same intensity. Lucius tried to wrench his arm free and found that the scrawny looking boy in front of him was uncommonly strong and in control of his strength. Lucius tried again to wrench free and Jonas yet again kept him at bay. Lucius reached for his walking stick he had earlier set on the table. Anne filched it before he could retrieve it. Jonas released him while Anne, still holding Lucius’ stick, placed herself between Lucius and Draco, “Draco- look at me- are you alright?” Draco raised his eyes to meet hers, “I will be.” It was then that Anne noticed Draco’s face. He was bruised on both cheekbones and his brow, his right eye blackening, and the left side of his lip split. Anne shook her head and sighed, “Jonas- take him to Poppy to fix those bruises and stay there until I come to retrieve you both. I will use a family pass phrase so you will know it is really me. You do not have to tell her how you were injured.” Draco nodded, “I came to try to warn you he was here…I guess we were a little late. Sorry.” Anne smiled reassuringly, “Do not worry; I am none worse for the wear. It is you who are important right now. You and Jonas just go and get you fixed up.” Draco and Jonas left. Anne turned to Lucius, “Leave- you strike your son, you strike me, and then lastly you strike your son in front of me- as a mother this I do not accept and I will not tolerate you here.” Lucius glared at her, “What I choose to do to my son is none of your business.” Anne retorted, “I am making it my business, seeing as he and my niece are close.” Lucius shook his head, turned on his heels, and called back, “Annelise, he is still mine and he will come when I call.” He reached the door and Anne gave her reply, “You do not know your son, Malfoy- he will follow his heart.” Lucius was gone.

Anne did not let these events hinder her annual Beltane celebration. Along with her meetings with the D.V.A.K., she constructed her maypole on the lakeshore and decorated the Great Hall with spring greenery. On May first she invited students, staff, and others to forget their troubles for one day to celebrate the coming of the life of the earth in spring. They accepted her invitation whole-heartedly.

On Monday, May third, disturbing news reached Hogwarts: Karkaroff had been discovered dead. Severus shared his fears with Anne, “Somehow I am going to be accused of this- I know it…all because he and I have a common history! I wouldn’t have been able to be at Durmstrang if I had wanted to be!” Anne shook her head, “I know…Fudge is going to twist this as hard as he can to get us both into Azkaban.”

Their fears came to fruition on evening of the fifth when the Ministry sent people to Hogwarts in full force to question and contain Severus. So far they had not touched Anne. This changed as soon as Fudge arrived on the sixth, though he merely cited Anne as some sort of background accomplice to the mess. He met with Severus in Albus’ office. Anne did not dare to miss the meeting and Angel could not be kept away- no matter how often Fudge pushed her out the door, she always appeared somehow in the room and added her two cents to the discussion. Fudge finally ignored her, “Now, Severus, your record speaks against you right now. Karkaroff is dead, and you are my prime suspect in the manner. I have arranged for you to be detained in Azkaban until we can sort this all out.” Angel piped up, “Where is your evidence? You can’t base a case on a personal grudge, there has to be non-circumstantial evidence for your allegations to hold water in a court of law.” Fudge stared at Angel and then smiled almost sickeningly sweet at her, “Well, that is all very interesting, dear-” “Drop the ‘dear’- I am Miss LeFay to you.” Fudge shook his head and returned his attention to Severus, “We have to do this, Severus.” Anne shook her head, “You aren’t taking him without me.” Fudge ran his eyes along Anne, “With your condition, I would not risk it. Azkaban could kill you, Annelise.” Anne nodded, “I understand the dangers- I have endured much. I am not giving you a choice; I am giving you an ultimatum. Deal with it.” Fudge nodded, “You have half an hour to make your peace here.” Anne nodded and Fudge left with his people. Albus took Angel’s hand, “Let us go find the rest of the family so that they may also have a few minutes to wish Anne and Severus the best.” Anne and Severus were left alone, “Lisie, there is no need for this. I will be fine on my own. It is too much of a risk.” Anne shook her head, “I have been having nightmares about this for the last two nights and Angel had a premonition yesterday. I have to go.” Severus sighed and held Anne close to him, “I understand.” Angel burst into the room followed by Jade, Jonas, and Draco. Jonas and Draco talked to Severus for a bit while Jade went immediately to Anne, “Anne…you know that this is going to be Hell, right?” Anne nodded. Jade sighed and spoke very quietly, “In case you don’t get out of there, I have to show you something.” Anne nodded as Jade held out her right hand and let her eyes flutter closed. Angel watched as Jade’s hand grow black iridescent scales from the tip of her fingers up her wrist, long black claws replacing her dark red nails. Anne’s eyes grew wide as she held her hand forward and let her eyes float shut. The exact same thing happened to her hand. Jade opened her eyes, as did Anne, both of them looking at the other in shock, “You?” they asked in unison. Angel grinned and whispered, “I knew it….” Anne let her hand return to normal, as did Jade. They both looked at Angel. Angel whispered her explanation, “I heard a long time ago from a very old woman in Kildare that there would come a day when I would meet two women who would be dragon sisters- both of them shifters into black dragons, a very rare creature to shift into and a very rare colour of dragon indeed. It fits with what Trelawney said. I mean, Jade is the heiress of all evil- she will have to choose which way to fly- literally. We will have to unite to win this thing, and the voice that may have a difficulty with the harmony would be Draco- I mean, who else has a choice like his except Jade? I still can’t figure out the loss part, but maybe by the time you and Dad get home- you will only be there for a few days.” Anne smiled at Angel as she finished, “I know you are correct- what makes me apprehensive is what will happen in those few days.” Jade glanced back at the guys, “We had better rejoin them so that they do not do anything to rash.” Anne laughed, “Look who’s talking.” Jade shot Anne a grinning glare and the women rejoined the men. Severus took his wife’s hand, “Jadelyn- you, Draco, and Jonas are responsible for my little girl during our time away. I don’t want you to forget this.” Jonas scooped up Angel, “Don’t worry sir, we won’t.” Jade gave a curt nod as Draco draped his arm around her shoulder, “We are a family, sir; Jade has taught me that no matter what happens we can and will stick together. Jonas and I are like brothers and I see Angel sort of like a little sister. We won’t let you down.” Severus smiled at Draco, “I know.” Fudge returned, “Your time is almost up. Say anything important now.” Angel spoke, “Dementors are a nasty lot- the best way to defeat them is to kill them with kindness. The happiest thoughts I have to send with you are these: The first time you two kissed- I had never felt such peace between two people. Remember the proposal and acceptance, the kindness you two have always poured out to one another, and the wedding and the events around it. Defeat their cold with the warmth of love.” Anne kissed Angel, “We will.” Before any more goodbyes could be said, Fudge had them ushered from the room.

They arrived at Azkaban Prison on the seventh in mid-afternoon. Anne and Severus had been brought in separate carriages as part of the punishment for the crime that neither of them had committed. Severus exited his and immediately shoved past his guards and opened the door to Anne’s carriage for her, offering her his arm as she descended the few steps to the ground. Fudge, who had accompanied them, led the escort into the prison where they met the warden, “Cornelius…what the ‘ell are yeh doin’ ‘ere? Yeh never come ‘round with yer newest inmates…bit ‘fraid of us ‘ere yeh are.” Fudge shook his head, “I am not afraid. These two are to be held here until they can be cleared for the murder of Karkaroff.” The warden extended his hand, “Well…with what they sent me, I’d be guessin’ that yeh’re Severus Snape and ‘is lady Annelise. I can’t say yer goin’ t’ get any sort of welcome ‘ere, but eh, what can yeh expect? Any’ow, I’m Ernest Toklein.” Fudge shook his head, “Just keep them out of the way….”

Ernest told them to call him Ernie and not to mind the Dementors much. He put Severus in a cell alone with Anne’s cell beside his. Anne managed to find a chink in their adjoining wall and they conversed all through the night, both of them too uneasy to sleep.

The next morning Ernie pushed plates of porridge through traps in their doors around eight. Anne could not bring herself to eat. Severus tried to coax her, but he failed miserably at the attempt, “Severus, the stuff is like glue and I already feel sick- I don’t want to throw up while I am stuck in this cell; I am not tempting fate by filling my stomach.” Severus had to agree with her. After lunch, which Anne could not eat either, the lighter security prisoners such as Anne and Severus were allowed to leave their cells for a brief time and sit in a gathering hall. Upon arrival they found Dementors everywhere. Anne sat close to Severus as one passed them by, “This is really creepy…it feels like that thing just sucked the happiness from me….” Severus nodded, “Just remember what Angel said- that will hold them off.” Anne sighed and looked around her. She recognized a few faces from her past and one from her present, “Severus- is that Adelaide over there?” Severus turned to look where Anne indicated and cringed, “Yes, it is.” Anne noticed a little snake crawling by the wall near where they sat. She whispered to it and it came to her. She whispered something else to it and it slithered off. A few moments later, Adelaide shrieked and jumped up on the table. Anne grinned and snuggled beside Severus. Adelaide shrieked again as the little snake crawled up onto the bench she had been sitting on and then made its way to the table top upon which she stood. Adelaide ran down the length of the table and then leapt off the end. Anne noticed someone go toward the snake with a shoe. She extended her hand and whispered, “Come.” The snake flew from harms way and into her hand. She spoke to it to calm it and discovered it too had a name. She introduced her new friend to Severus, “Severus, this is Nadine.” Nadine curled up on Anne’s shoulder and flicked her tongue out at the approaching Adelaide, “What were you thinking?!” Anne chuckled, “I wasn’t- and I have to say I rather liked it.”

As they were being returned to their cells, Adelaide let out a shriek of joy and ran to meet the man who was going to be Severus’ cellmate. Anne cringed as he laughed a high, cold laugh, “Adelaide…fancy meeting you here.” Severus shuddered, “I hate that laugh.” Anne nodded, “I hate that man- he is one of the leading Death Eaters in Cambridge.” Ernie did not bother to try to drag Adelaide from what had been Severus’ cell, “Eh…I really don’t want t’ try an’ separate those two…I’d get killed. Severus, yeh can share Anne’s room, seein’ that yer married t’ ‘er.” Severus thanked the man profusely. Come dinner, Anne tried to eat some steamed vegetables and not only managed to eat them, but kept them down as well. Severus was quite glad- he worried about his wife in a place such as Azkaban in the state she was in. That night, Anne curled up beside Severus and fell asleep, he joining her in dreams shortly after.

Early the next day Anne was woken by Severus shaking her. She groggily sat up, “Wha…?” Nadine sat on Severus’ shoulder, “Anne, there is something happening out there- the Dementors all are on the move and there are screams everywhere.” Anne was fully awake by this time. She stood up and inspected the door. As she was doing this, Ernie flung it open, nearly hitting her, “I know yer innocent, so get out. The damn bloody Dementors are getting’ all riled up an’ they’ve got some baddies on their side. We’ve got t’ get out of ‘ere.” Anne nodded and Severus rose. Both of them followed Ernie through the winding halls leading to his office. They never made it. The Cambridge man and a good fifteen Dementors and inmates blocked the hallway, “Ah…Miss Matthews- you decided to join us?” Anne shook her head and strode forward. She raised her hand and shoved the air aside, “CLEAR!” she shouted. The people in there way were flattened against the wall. She motioned for Severus and Ernie to go through. Ernie was impressed, “Well, I’ve never seen anythin’ as the likes of that….” He lead them through the corridor as Anne gave him a warning, “That wears off in five minutes- we have to move faster.” Just after she said this, a group of Dementors rounded the corner and began to follow them. Ernie pulled down a trap door in the ceiling and down dropped a rope ladder. Anne insisted Severus go first, as did Ernie. She shoved Ernie ahead of her and clamoured up last. She could not shut the trap, so she set fire to the rope, “If I can light torches in my chamber, I light other things on fire as well….” Ernie was yet again impressed as Anne surveyed her new surroundings. She was on the roof.

Severus sighed, “How are we going to get out of here?” Anne looked over the edge to see Dementors and other unfriendlies coming toward the prison, “Oh crap…we have company.” Ernie shook his head, “We are goin’ t’ ‘ave t’ jump.” Anne did not seem to hear him, “You two go stand over on the other side of the roof.” Puzzled, they did as she said. They watched as first her hands became black and scaly, and then they observed the scales spread to the rest of her body. Her face transformed as her hair became a great ruff around her head. She grew large. Within a minute she had fully shifted into a huge gunmetal black dragon with crystalline faceted black eyes. She stretched her wings with a creaking of leather and kneeled down. Severus took her hint and motioned for Ernie, “Climb on.” As soon as her passengers were aboard, Anne leapt from the rooftop and spread her wings. They soared out away from what was fast becoming Hell.

Anne landed just outside of Hogsmeade with a thunderous wham. Ernie slid off her back and tipped his hat to her, “I ‘ave t’ go tell the Ministry what’s ‘appening- thanks ma’am, if yeh can ‘ere me.” Anne nodded and Ernie was off.

Anne flew back to Hogwarts and landed on the Quiddich Pitch, surprising a few random students out flying. Snape slid off her back with Nadine still on his shoulder. Anne folded her wings and returned to her natural shape, fully robed as she had been prior to her change of shape. Severus offered her his arm and they returned to the school to make their report to Albus. After doing so, she headed for her chambers while Severus stayed behind to discuss what to do about him and Anne’s escape. Anne opened her door to find her room dark and empty. She went to Jade’s room and pushed open the door. There sitting on the floor at her feet was Jade’s fanged geranium. It made a lunge for her as Jade called from where she was lounging on the bed, “Down George!” The plant stopped its attack and seemed to watch Anne as she made her way to Jade, “You named it?” Jade nodded, “Of course. He really is rather loveable once you get to know him. He really likes Angel, but Draco not so much.” Anne shook her head, “He is just like you- anyhow, where are the others?” Jade gestured towards the door, “Angel wanted to go see Hagrid so she, Draco, the Inseparable Trio, Jonas, and Zack all went on a field trip. So…you are back early- tell.” Anne told.

On Monday, May tenth, Anne stood in front of her class and knew exactly why they were so quiet, “I know you are all wondering about the weekend. I can assure you that the allegations that Severus is charged with are false, as are any rumours that have taken flight. Speaking of flight, that was me which you saw land on the Pitch. I hope I did not frighten anyone too terribly. This week in class, our guests (Black, Moody, and Lupin) will be joining us along with Professor Adrians. We will be using this time as a supplement to your Defence Against the Dark Arts class and will be focussing on duelling, blocking, and counter curses, along with a few handy things that you should know about the Death Eaters, their techniques, favourite moves, and other miscellany that I happen to think of. Are there any questions?” No one raised their hands, “Then I turn the floor over to Terlynise.”

The rest of the week proceeded in the same manner. By Friday, everyone needed a break. Jade had an idea and set it into motion. Starting Saturday morning at eight and running through Sunday she would have a horror film festival featuring every **_Friday the Thirteenth_** and **_Nightmare on Elm Street_** movie ever made, closing the marathon with **_Freddy v. Jason_**. Saturday, Anne settled into Jade’s room on the couch they had dragged in from her chamber and watched as students entered with armchairs, blankets, pillows, and beanbags. Around ten, Jade started the films. Both Anne and Angel looked down every time something gory came on, but they listened in amusement. Severus, Jonas, and Draco found the films hilarious, as did Jade, Angel, Anne, and the Trio. Zack had opted out of the festival- he wasn’t terribly fond of horror movies. There were quite a few Slytherins watching, including the troublesome group of three fourth years, along with Brittany, Crabbe, and Goyle. 

Very early Sunday morning (around two o’clock) when they had finished watching Jason, they took a half an hour break and then started on Freddy. They finished watching Freddy around two thirty Sunday afternoon. Jade took a poll, “Alright, we have all seen these two fine men at work, who here is Jason fan?” There were many in the room who thought Jason was awesome, including the Trio. Jade then asked for Freddy supporters. The Snape family (including Draco) all voted for Freddy. Jade counted the results, “Right- we have ten Jason fans and sixteen Freddy fans, along with seven of you who just don’t have an opinion either way. I want to hear you make some noise, because it is time for **_Freddy v. Jason_**!”

After Freddy and Jason fought for turf in the final flick of the marathon, everyone went to crash. It was only five in the evening when Jade’s room cleared, but no one had slept in around thirty hours so it was expected that no one would be awake for long. As Jade was dozing off, she placed George in front of her door and thought, _“That would be my eighth time through Freddy, sixth through Jason, and tenth time seeing_ **Freddy v. Jason** _. What a way to spend a weekend…Nigel would be proud.”_

April seventeenth: the fourth year Potions class entered the lab as usual and sat down at their desks. Jade sat at Severus’ desk watching them enter, her hands folded on her lap. At the prescribed time, Jade rose, her hands now tucked behind her back and still hidden. Angel sat on the desk as soon as Jade had vacated the area. She drew forth her right hand and slammed a hand wearing a glove with ten inch blades on the fingers against the blackboard, screeching the blades down the board. The class fell silent as they all cringed. She waved to the class, the blades clicking together, “Good morning, I trust you all had a well-spent weekend, I know I did-” One of the troublesome three interrupted her, “You watched horror movies all weekend! How is that well-spent?” Jade shrugged, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” A few of her students understood her joke. She continued, “Today we will be working on a fairly complex solvent that Professor Snape uses to clean off the ceilings in here when things explode. The ingredients are on the board. Get to work.” The three troublemakers muttered to one another under their breath. Jade pointed at them with one blade, “I would not recommend tempting fate….”

After class, Angel sprang off the desk, “Jade, that is absolutely awesome…where did you get it and can I have one?” Jade scraped the blades together, “Nigel helped me make this when I was thirteen.” Angel’s eyes grew wide in awe, “Can I make one?” Jade laughed, “Go ask your mother.” Angel scampered out of the lab and ran into Anne coming in, “Can I have a glove like Jade has?” Anne looked over at Jade who waved back with her gloved hand, the blades clicking together. Anne looked at Angel with a look that asked, ‘do I look daft?’, “No.” Angel tried another approach, “Can I borrow Jade’s?” Anne shook her head, “No.” Angel sighed, “She used it in the lab today to cut some sort of root- I could use it to be practical.” Anne raised her eyebrows as Jade tossed four strange looking fruits with little spikes on them in the air and speared them on the blades of her glove. Anne shook her head, “No…because you could also use it to torture the Slytherins, and you would.” Angel shrugged, “Eh, it was worth a shot.”

After Anne and Angel left the lab, Severus entered to see how Jade’s day had gone, “Jade, there were no problems today? You seem to be in high spirits.” She grinned as he extended his hand to her, laying her gloved palm across his, careful not to slice his hand off or skewer him on the blades, “None whatsoever, Severus.” He inspected the glove, “This is nice…” He nodded his approval as she walked to the door to leave. He called after her, “Tell Lise I will be joining you both for her class after I make the necessary arrangements for tomorrow’s class.” Jade turned back to him, “You may need to repair the chalkboard too.” She gave him a peace sign with her gloved hand before she left to go to Anne’s class.

Anne stood in front of her class with a grim look on her face as they met that day, “I am going to put this as blatantly as I can- Voldemort is coming and he is coming soon. There is evidence pouring in that he will hit soon and if we are not prepared for his coming, we are all going to get our butts kicked. I want you all to remember that there is nothing that he can do to you that we cannot somehow prepare for- you have a few veterans and the most powerful wizard- the only person Voldemort is afraid of- on your side. Thing aren’t going to be easy and we are going to be on pins and needles for the next few weeks. Jade will be taking a few of you away for this class period, but the rest of you are to work here with the D.V.A.K. to make this place the most secure it can be. Any questions?” No one answered, “Good- get to work.”

Jade took Harry, Hermione, Ron, Zack, Draco, and Angel into the Dungeons to her room, “You are some of the people Albus is most worried about in this- he says that Daddy V. has special interest in the lot of you. Harry, we haven’t a clue as to why he wants you, but he does-” Harry interrupted, “Actually, I do know- there was a prophesy made that one of two children would take him down- one was me, the other Neville. He chose, by his attack on me, that I would be the one to defeat him. Neville doesn’t know about this at all. I have to be the one who casts the final spell.” Jade shook her head, “Alright, we do know why Mould Man wants you…Ron and Hermione, he isn’t as concerned with you, but since you are friends of Harry’s, his followers don’t really like you too terribly much. Zack, you turned his younger followers in to the authorities, so he isn’t really that fond of you either. Draco, I think we all know why you are here. Angel, you are the child of two people who left his service and condemned it to evil, making it part of their lives’ goals to keep others off that path. He will come after you to get to Anne and Severus. I think we all also know why he is likely to come for me. Albus will be meeting us here shortly and we are going to be aiding in the planning of Hogwarts’ defences.” Albus entered the room, “You have briefed them?” Jade nodded and watered George. Albus sighed, “We have a dark future to prepare for…let us try to brace ourselves against its ravages.”

For the next two weeks, Anne and Jade separated the class in this manner, Jade informing Anne of what she had discovered or what she needed Anne’s class to do to fulfil the schematics that Jade’s group was drawing up. On Friday, May twenty-eighth, Anne’s Dark Mark was burning more viciously than it had done in years. She could not find Severus to tell him, but she thought that his must be quite painful also. She crashed into bed that evening wondering what detained him for so long and where he was.

On the twenty-ninth, Anne once again slid into bed without knowing where Severus had gone. He had not arrived at the D.V.A.K. meeting that had been that afternoon. She drifted off to sleep.

Around two o’clock in the morning, Anne awoke to the clicking of her door. She sat up in bed, “Severus, is that you?” She got no response, so she lit a torch by her hammock. She sighed, it was he, “Love, where have you been all day? I have been worried about you.” He still did not answer. He walked over to her and stood in front of her, his face stony and unwavering. Worry crossed Anne’s visage, “What is troubling you?” He raised his wand and pointed it directly between her eyes. She did not flinch, ‘’Severus, lower it.” He just stared at her. She slid from her hammock and moved around so that she could reach his face. She gently stroked his cheek, “Come on, I know you are in there- you don’t want to do this, shake off his hold on you.” Severus’ face softened slightly and he lowered the wand. She smiled and kissed him. His face crossed with pain and he stepped away from her, his wand sharply returning to its former position aimed squarely between her eyes. She sighed and sat down on the hammock, watching as he kept his weapon trained on her, “Fine, if you cannot shake him and you must do this, remember that I forgive you for it and will look down on you from Heaven protectively because you are my husband and I love you.” Severus remained immobile for a moment before he lowered his arm and then slowly cast his gaze down to the weapon he was wielding. He sharply threw it across the table and then stared at his hands, walking to the couch as he did, “What have I done?”

Anne rose from the hammock as he sank onto the couch and clutched his head in his hands, sobbing and muttering, “What have I done?” Anne sat beside him and pulled him to her, letting his head rest on her shoulder, “You haven’t done anything. I am fine- no one else saw…Angel is with Jade tonight, guarded by George. You have done nothing….” He could not respond. She enfolded him in her arms and gently rocked him until he cried himself to sleep. She slid from the couch, careful to not wake him, made sure he was comfortable, tucked a blanket around him, and then went to her hammock thinking, _“Voldemort has to be close…or an operative of his. I bet Lucius has something to do with this. Oh God, please let Severus be all right in the morning….”_

Anne woke up to find Severus still sleeping on her couch. She slipped next door. Angel was awake and watering George while Jade and Draco poured over diagrams with the Trio and Zack. Angel looked at Anne with great concern, “Mum, what happened last night? I felt Dad’s sorrow really strong…what got to him?” Anne sighed, “Voldemort had hold of his mind, dear, and tried to have me killed. Your father was very strong and threw off Voldemort’s grip. I was not harmed. Do not worry, it will not happen again.” Angel nodded, “I thought so- and I already knew it wouldn’t happen again. There isn’t time for it to.” Draco sighed, “Voldemort didn’t cast the curse on Professor Snape.” Jade’s head snapped up, “What did you say?” Draco sighed, “It was my father- I heard him telling Professor Adrians that he had inside information that Professor Snape was going to kill Anne as a service to the Dark Lord and to prove that he had indeed returned to the Dark Arts. Professor Adrians was stunned, but really didn’t know what to say. I think that my father cursed Snape to try to ruin him.” Jade let out a string of expletives and then looked to Anne, “Sorry- that bastard is going down if I have any say in what happens in history….”

Severus was very withdrawn for the rest of the day. He either sat on Anne’s couch or lay there without motion, lost in thought. 

Monday, May thirty first, Anne cancelled her class so that the D.V.A.K. could meet with Jade’s defence committee. She arrived early to the meeting wearing a lovely black tank dress and black fringed shawl. She had not felt quite so ill for the last two days and she sighed as she rested her hand over her protruding stomach. What was causing her illness was obvious, but neither she nor Severus were going to make the announcement until after Voldemort showed his cards. No one else was in the Great Hall. She sat down and waited. Unfortunately Lucius was using the Great Hall as a cut-through from the door on the platform to the main doors when just as she sat down, “Well if it isn’t the little-” Anne cut him off, “Shut your face, Malfoy, before I do it for you.” Severus entered the Great Hall from the main doors, “Leave, Malfoy.” Lucius did not budge, “It should be I telling you to leave…after all, I could land you the Kiss of Death very easily with all that you have done.” Anne looked up at Lucius, “Like I couldn’t do the same for you….” Lucius grinned, “You couldn’t- not while I have friends in Azkaban. Anyhow, Severus has to put up with me. I have a little leverage- you see, if he obeys me, then I don’t tell anyone who might tell the Dark Lord where he is, and therefore he stays alive. Should he disobey…not only is he exposed, and I will be sure it gets to the _Prophet,_ but I will make sure that the Dark Lord hears first of where to find his father. If that wasn’t enough to convince him, I would just have to make sure that you, Miss Anne, met with the same fate as his little, weak, but not-as-pathetic-as-you Josephine. It really is a pity that he couldn’t make a better choice in a wife the second time around….” Anne rose indignantly, “You cold-hearted bastard! Who the Hell do you think you are, talking about Severus like that?” She slapped Lucius across the face as hard as she could. His eyes burned with cold fury as he hit her cheek with a closed fist. She staggered backward and fell onto a table, eventually righting herself enough to sit on the bench. Severus was by her side immediately, “Lisie, are you alright? Did he hurt…?” he asked as he rested his hand on her stomach. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself- her cheek was bruising quickly. Lucius turned to leave as the door on the platform slammed open with a crash that resounded through the Great Hall and beyond. There stood Jade, her anger nearly visible in the air around her. Lucius spun around as her voice rose, filling the space with her commanding presence, “LUCIUS MALFOY, YOU LITTLE FERRET, THAT IS THE LAST TIME YOU WILL LAY HANDS ON ANYONE IN MY FAMILY!” Her voice became low and deadly, “If I were not so determined to be the opposite of my father, I would kill you.” She instead formed a glowing white orb of energy in her hands, rolling it around in her palms as it became round. She pitched it at Lucius with all the strength she could muster and watched it strike him full in the chest while he was trying to discern what Jade was doing. He found himself upside-down and stuck to a wall with a body-lock curse added for good measure and a muting charm. He was immobile and silent. Jade dusted off her hands, “Much better.” Anne stood, still shaking from her encounter, “Good work, Jade, good work.” Severus escorted Anne from the room, “Jade, tell our colleges that I am taking Lise to Poppy to make sure everything is well inside and out. Begin the meeting without us.”

Albus was quite amused to find Lucius stuck to the wall, “He doesn’t really match the décor….” he joked. Draco shrugged, “I think we should just leave him there and throw things at him during dinner.” Everyone in the D.V.A.K. agreed with Draco.

That evening at dinner, Draco let his classmates discover for themselves the newest ‘wall hanging’. When Anne and Severus arrived, Jade was pleased to see that Poppy had cleared Anne’s face of the bruise that had marred it earlier. Jade pulled Anne and Severus’ chairs ouf for them. Anne sat first, her husband being sure she was comfortable before he himself settled. Jade inquired, “Do you like the new decoration? Draco and I both hope that no one takes it down over the night hours.” Anne laughed a little. Jade’s face became serious, “He didn’t hurt you, did he? Your back hit that table hard.” Anne shook her head, “All is well, Jade- we got lucky.”

The next morning Anne discovered that someone had indeed taken Lucius off the wall. Her Dark Mark burned her skin and there was a foreboding feeling surrounding the day. Hagrid ran into the building, “Th’ Centaurs all are reportin’ strange things movin’ through th’ Forest- dark critters with a nasty chill- Dementors if yeh ask me.” Anne nodded. Severus vanished to find Albus. Angel took a deep breath, “Mum- can I use your wand if we fight today?” Anne nodded, “You may use a wand- Severus and I discussed this already and it was agreed that you will be using his mother’s wand. Severus said she would have wanted it so.” Angel was nervous, “Why is this taking so long?” It was then that everyone heard an alarm bell ring through Hogwarts. Anne sighed, “So it begins…we must convene in the Great Hall. Severus will join us after he has collected Slytherin House.”

As the Great Hall filled with students and faculty, Anne made a detour to the dungeons to make sure that Jade had heard the warning and to retrieve the staff that she had last used when she had been a traveller. It was a wonderful piece of metalwork with a Celtic Triune Knot at the top and a secret hollow for her wand to slip into, making it as effective as her wand itself. She found it quite easily and ventured over to Jade’s quarters. She found Jade’s chamber empty and fiercely guarded by George the Fanged Geranium. Upon closing the door, Anne noticed someone in the shadows on the other side of the hallway. She moved toward them and recognized Narcissa Malfoy, “Ma’am, what are you doing here? Isn’t Lucius going to be furious?” Narcissa shook her head rapidly, “I don’t care the risk, I had to come- they are coming through the forest…I had to warn my baby, apologize for what his father is going to try to make me do today, and make sure that he knows I am aware of what I am doing.” Anne placed her hand on Narcissa’s arm, “Do you want me to pass this on?” Narcissa nodded, “Tell him I love him and would stop this if I could.” Anne sighed, “I will tell him. Do not fear for your son, for he is strong and knows where he stands.” Narcissa nervously glanced down the hall, pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, and gave Anne one last message, “He stands right where he should- with those who love him more than life itself. Thank you, Annelise, and thank Jadelyn as well. Without her, my son would be standing with his father.” Narcissa silently strode off down the hallway while Anne ascended the stairs to bring the news to Draco.

Draco froze after Anne relayed all that Narcissa had said, “My mother…oh God I hope Father doesn’t kill her….” Jade wrapped her arm around his shoulder, “I will do all in my power to see that he doesn’t, but if he does, she will have died a free woman with her soul where it should be.” Draco nodded, “Did you know Mother is Catholic?” Jade kissed Draco’s cheek, “Never would have guessed it. Albus is about to speak, hush dear, we need to hear this.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about to undertake the singular most difficult task in Hogwarts’ history. You have all trained for this moment, some of you for not very long. Plans have been laid and last night all your house heads briefed you on the situation that was fast approaching. It has come. There will be no more speculation as to how the Dark Arts will descend upon us after we embark on this journey, we will be living history. Everyone, please follow the instructions given by Lupin, Black, Moody, Snape and Snape, Riddle, Adrians, McGonagall and I. We have to move quickly.”

The students and listened carefully as their leaders called off lists of names. Each set of students gathered together and received instructions on where their defensive positions were going to be once they moved into place. Anne sat with her group, “This group consists of a wide range of skills. We are forming the centre section of the defensive line. If you look at this map, the staff and student body will be forming a partial ring around the school. This ring is not your permanent position. When the attack comes, the ultimate goal, besides survival, is to prevent entry to the school. This building holds not only a wizard’s school, but a centre point for our culture and history. You will stay in your positions until the attack, but after that, the only determinant to your placement is where the attack is coming from. The group leaders will stand slightly in front of the main line. Defend one another, do not be afraid, and try not to kill anyone if possible. Now that you have an idea of what is going on, let’s move out.”

Out around Hogwarts the groups formed their defensive line, each of the leaders stepping forward and toward the centre to form a lookout. Angel refused to stand back with the students, instead standing beside her mother and clutching the wand she had been lent. She was slightly nervous, so she began to sing, shakily at first, but gaining strength as she dove into her old favourite,

_“Do you hear the people sing,_

_Singing the song of angry men?_

_It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!_

_When the beating of your heart_

_Echoes the beating of the drums_

_There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!”_

From the front row, Anne and Jade began to sing with her.

_“Will you join in our crusade,_

_Who will be strong and stand with me?_

_Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?_

_The join in the fight_

_That will give you the right_

_To be free!”_

Anne’s theatre students from her first year teaching added their voices to the chorus,

_“Do you hear the people sing,_

_Singing the song of angry men?_

_It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!_

_When the beating of your heart_

_Echoes the beating of the drums_

_There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!”_

Anne sang the verse alone,

_“Will you give all you can give_

_So that our banner may advance?_

_Some will fall and some will live_

_Will you stand up and take your chance?_

_The blood of the martyrs_

_Will water the meadows_

_Of France!”_

Those who had caught on joined those who sang before,

_“Do you hear the people sing,_

_Singing the song of angry men?_

_It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!_

_When the beating of your heart_

_Echoes the beating of the drums_

_There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!”_

Anne smiled as Angel continued the song with the finale from Les Miserables, this time everyone who had sang with them back in Anne’s first year joining in, including those who had sung along in the crowd,

_“Do you hear the people sing,_

_Lost in the valley of the night?_

_It is the music of a people who are climbing to the light!_

_For the wreched of the earth_

_There is a flame that never dies._

_Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise!_

_They will live again in freedom_

_In the garden of the Lord._

_They will walk behind the plough-share_

_They will put away the sword._

_The chain will be broken_

_And all men will have their reward!_

_Will you join in our crusade,_

_Who will be strong and stand with me_

_Somewhere beyond the barricade_

_Is there a world you long to see?_

_Do you hear the people sing,_

_Say do you hear the distant drum?_

_It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes!”_

As they finished the song that Angel had taken as her battle cry, they noticed shadowy figures emerging from the dense mist that had gathered in the forest. Anne leaned on her staff and whispered to the incoming figures, “Come on you bastards, show your cowardly selves and bring it on….”

Severus looked along the line, wondering who would be the first to move. He turned his attention back to then advancing mass. It was headed by the Dementors, sucking the hope from their adversaries. Jade shouted up, “Keep heart, men- they cannot take away what we refuse to give them!” Following the Dementors came the Death Eaters in a triangular configuration led by none other than Voldemort himself. The advancing line stopped thirty feet away from the Hogwarts front line. Fog hovered behind Evil. The sun rose from behind Hogwarts. All was still for a moment. Voldemort sneered, “The day has come…MEN, DO YOUR WORST!” Anne shouted as Hogwarts braced themselves for the defensive, “KEEP STRONG AND STAND TALL!” Lucifer took on the Throne one final time.

Draco found himself face to face with his father, Narcissa weakly by Lucius’ side. She winced as Lucius dragged her forward, “Woman, don’t force me to curse you….” Jade kicked a Dementor in the face sending it flying backwards before she joined Draco. Narcissa nodded to Jade and wrenched herself free from Lucius’ grip, “I’ll take my chances.” Lucius could not believe his ears, “What are you saying, woman?” She did not respond, rather stood where she was, watching both parties. Draco drew his wand, “Today, Lucius, we end this.” Lucius sighed and muttered, “Avada Kedavra.” Narcissa stepped between Lucius and Draco, crumpling to the ground as she was hit. “MOM!” Draco shouted and dove to her side. Jade glared at Lucius as he reacted, “Hmm…I probably should have expected that.” Draco cradled his mother’s body. Jade cast on Lucius, “Incendio.” Lucius’ robes caught fire. He muttered something and the flames vanished, “Pardon me, Miss Riddle, from this heated topic, but my Lord calls.” Jade’s stony eyes shot daggers, “As does mine….”

Meanwhile, Zack found himself face to face with his own foe- Eddwords, “What the heck are you doing here? Weren’t you trying to catch the Death Eaters?” Eddwords shrugged, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Zack shook his head, “You are despicable.” Eddwords nodded, “Petrificus Totalus.” Zack laughed as he blocked the curse, “Are you serious? Rictusempra!” Eddwords began laughing uncontrollably. Zack cast another curse, “Tanrantallegra!” Eddwords began to disco. Angel ran by in pursuit of a Dementor that her Patronus was chasing, “What did you do to him?” Zack called after her, “Tickling charm and then a dancing charm.” 

Noon: around ten Death Eaters were incapacitated in various forms while five Dementors huddled by the lakeshore where Angel was ‘storing the collection’, all of them terribly afraid of Angel’s fluffy white rabbit Patronus. Anne heard a call for help coming from Jonas. The man from Cambridge they had seen in Azkaban and Adelaide were trying to kill Jonas who was fighting them off with various degrees of success. Anne pressed a trigger near the top of her staff and knives extended from each of the points of the triune knot. She slashed at a Death Eater who backed into Minerva. Minerva took over handling him. Anne made her way over to Jonas with her hack and slash method and finally strode up to Adelaide and slapped her across the face, “You want to fight, fight me, because I have had an earnest yearning to beat the shit out of you ever since you first opened your mouth, you little slut.” Adelaide looked at Anne in shock and then anger, “Fine, if that is how you want to play, we’ll play.” Adelaide muttered, “Reducto.” to try to slam Anne backward. Anne blocked it with a shield charm and then counterattacked with, “Impedimenta!” causing Adelaide to move in slow motion. Anne then shouted, “Expelliarmus!” at both Adelaide and the Cambridge man, causing both their wands to fly from their hands. Anne whispered, “Come…” and the wands landed nicely in her outstretched palm. She tossed them to the ground and stamped on them, then casting, “Incendio” on them so that the wands burst into flames and were reduced to ash.

Jade was having fun shouting, “Serpensortia!” at her opponents and watching them shout out as a snake flew at them. She tried it on Bellatrix and found that Bellatrix did not appreciate it in the least bit, so Jade did it again. Neville refused to come anywhere near Bellatrix until he watched as she began to curse Jadelyn, who was dealing with a determined Dementor. He whipped his wand at Bellatrix, “Petrificus Totalus!” Bellatrix stopped speaking in mid, “Avada K-”, freezing up and falling over. Neville smiled. Jade cast her Patronus on the Dementor and a giant silvery basilisk began to herd the Dementor toward Angel’s cache. She gave Neville a peck on the cheek, “Thanks- after this mess is done, I owe you dinner at my place.“ Jade grinned as the Death Eaters paused briefly to watch her Patronus along with those from Hogwarts in amazement.

Voldemort pointed his wand to the sky and called out, “Morsmordre!” The Dark Mark appeared in the sky above him. It was just after that when he noticed Jade’s basilisk Patronus near the lakeshore. He sighed, that girl was going to be more trouble than his night with Adelaide had been worth….

Three o’clock: Ron and Hermione were guarding Hagrid’s hut with Hagrid when Harry came running, “He’s conjured the Dark Mark- we have to be ready for him to bring out the rest of his followers.” Ron moaned, “You mean there will be more of them?” Hermione nodded, “If what Anne told us is true, about there being training houses for the Death Eaters, there have to be enough Death Eaters for an entire army.” 

Draco guarded Narcissa’s body near the lakeshore, fighting off anyone who dared come to desecrate it, “She died a free woman and for love, she will receive honour in death that she did not receive in life.” he stated to Jade. Jade nodded as Angel and her Patronus brought in a few more Dementors, “That she will, love, that she will.” Angel crossed herself, “May she rest in peace. Jade, I think I am finally going to name my Patronus- his name is Frank.” Jade shook her head, “Your train of thought is on a very crooked track. Mine is Captain Barbosa.”

Ginny ran a message to Severus from Anne, “He is calling- be strong, keep tall, and don’t count on getting any outside help. We are on our own.” He shook his head, “We’ll see about that.” He uncorked a tiny vial he had kept hidden inside his robes and threw its contents to the ground. From it grew a long black smoke trail that began to spiral its way outward until it had a five foot diameter and then it began to rise to the sky. Severus turned from the column that was fast growing in height and sought out another opponent.

Half an hour later, Severus’ column was as tall as Hogwarts and shifting in shape to look like Isengard. As if on cue, the instant it was fully formed, a huge flock of ravens swarmed from somewhere on the Hogwarts rooftop, circled the tower, and flew off in the direction of Hogsmeade.

Four o’clock: Voldemort’s army arrived, filling the grounds with shouted curses and counter-curses. Ginny dodged to the side as a Death Eater in front of her cried out, “Crucio!” and hit one of his compatriots who had been standing behind Ginny. She snickered and went off to find Zack.

Zack was busy casting “Waddiwasi” at his opponents, causing random objects to fly up their noses. Ginny joined him. Less than a minute later, someone released Boggarts.

Brittany faced off against Jade, “I challenge you, shamed daughter of the Dark Lord, to a duel to the death!” Jade laughed, “Really? Are you going to talk me to death?” Brittany huffed, “Of course not, you filthy whore, I am going to take you down in one swift stroke of-” she never finished. Jade swept her arm across her body and without touching Brittany, she shoved her backward much as she had done to Crabbe and Goyle during her first few days at Hogwarts. Jade kept pushing, collecting new Death Eaters as she went. She pushed them back to Angel’s Dementor stash and shoved her unwitting guests into the Dementors, “Have fun, Miss Gwyn. I doubt they will have s much patience for your talk as I did.”

Five o’clock: From the direction of Hogsmeade came a welcome sight- reinforcements. Fudge stood in front of a mass of wizards all looking quite ready to fight. They arrived on the grounds and Fudge attempted to relay a battle plan. The Weasley clan starred at him as though he were mad. Alabama Cray shook her head, “Are you insane, Fudge? No Death Eater or Dementor is going to give a rat’s ass about your little plan. You delayed coming here- you said they could handle it- you were afraid to risk your own skin if someone else would instead. You little coward.” She shouted to her fellow witches and wizards, “THIS IS OUR DAY- LET US DEFEND OUR HOMES WITH HONOUR AND COURAGE, REMEMBERING THAT AT THE END OF THIS WILL COME EITHER OUR VICTORY MARCH OR OUR FUNERAL HYMN, THERE IS NOTHING BETWEEN! MOVE ON!” A cheer rose from the throats of the new arrivals, attracting the attention of those who had been fighting all afternoon. Alabama shouted a battle cry, “CHARGE!” They charged.

The battle raged on through the night, neither side making any headway against the other. Anne fought on through the moonlit night, frustrated that no matter how many Death Eaters they incapacitated and brought to the lakeshore, there were still so many on the battle field. The same thing went for the Dementors. Thankfully the Boggarts had been easier to eliminate. One had confronted Angel and changed into Lucius Malfoy. She had pointed her wand at it and strongly said, “Riddikulus!” In an instant it had appeared before her in full drag resembling Jade’s sleazy Hallowe’en costume. Angel had laughed so hard that it had attracted the attention of the real Lucius fighting not far off. He had turned and glared at both Angel and the Boggart quite fiercely. Angel now watched as the Boggart exploded, but Lucius himself stood there filling with fury. He pointed his wand at Angel, “Crucio.” She dropped to her knees and gasped as the pain hit her for the first time. She closed her eyes and fought it off, rising to her feet and pointing her wand at Lucius. She was breathing slowly, concentrating on fighting off the curse. She slowly brought a grin to her face, “Eat slugs, Malfoy.”

It was nearing sunrise when Lucius returned from the forest, slightly green. Angel was once again herding Dementors. Anne and Severus were fighting off many foes at once with their backs pressed against one another. Jade was in a fistfight with Crabbe and Goyle’s parents while Crabbe and Goyle hid in a doorway. Draco guarded Narcissa with unmatched dedication. The inseparable trio and Neville were going after Voldemort’s inner circle with Lupin, Moody, Black, and Terlynise. Albus and Minerva went after Voldemort himself.

Seven-thirty: the tired and hungry wizards kept up their defences even though their physical strength was waning. At this time, another wave of wizards joined them, having travelled from as far away as Durmstrang. The students from Beauxbatons joined in the fray a half an hour later. There was hardly room to move, but there was a definite turning in the tides. Lucius saw the battle turning from him and went to find his son.

Draco watched his father come near him and sighed, there would have to be one last battle between the two. Jade sighed as she stood by Draco, “You know he is going to ask you if you would want to join him. This is Trelawney’s prophecy coming true. ‘Angels meet demons and the dragons unite, the heir of all evil must choose where to fly. Nothing is possible where unity lies not, but unity itself will fall should one voice find the harmony too difficult to sing…’ Ang read in the tea leaves about Narcissa’s death, but she couldn’t figure out at that time to who it referred. You must choose whether or not the harmony is too difficult to sing.” Draco kissed Jade, “I know where I stand.” Jade smiled, “Then let’s prove it to Lucius.”

Lucius aimed his wand at Draco, “Boy, come with me and the girl lives.” Draco shook his head, “Draco, I will kill her- and girl, wipe that smirk off your face!” Jade’s eyes challenged Lucius’ very existence, “It is not a smirk- this is my Cheshire cat grin. Welcome to my rabbit hole.” Lucius looked at her in disgust, “What kind of wizard reads Muggle literature?” Jade shrugged, “A good one.” Lucius sneered, “Insolent girl- I am going to teach you the meaning of pain!” Jade thought quickly and quoted, “’You like pain? Try wearing a corset.’” While Lucius was trying to figure out why Jade had just mentioned a corset in the middle of a battle field, she and Draco took advantage of the moment. “Expelliarmus!” Draco shouted. Jade’s face grew stony, “Imperio….” Lucius was under her control, “Bow to me, you slimy git, and then go tell that Dark Lord of yours a favourite quote of mine, ‘Do us a favour...I know it's difficult for you...but please, stay here, and try not to do anything...stupid.’ Then tell him his little girl has a reminder for him- he can always surrender.” Draco looked at Jade in awe, “You are really scary when you get like this…I think it is one of the reasons I love you.” Jade watched Lucius scamper off, “It runs in the family.”

Ten o’clock: The Death Eaters cleared a path as Voldemort went to the centre of the field to meet Albus head to head. Anne and Jade knew that the battle would be brief, if no one did anything terribly stupid. Unfortunately, someone did. Crabbe and Goyle’s parents attacked Albus as well. Everyone on the field was in shock- the Death Eaters did not want to cast into the fray for fear of hitting their leader and no one on the opposing side was willing to risk hitting Albus. Anne knew there was one thing she had left to do. She handed her staff to Hermione and ran into the forest. Jade met her there. Both of them stood apart from one another and released their greatest power yet.

The spectators on the battle field froze as two black dragons shot out of the forest circled the area. Jade dove in and grabbed her father in her mouth. Anne landed with a WHAM in a cleared space and walked forward so that Albus could climb on her nose. She took off and followed Jade to the lake. Jade made a circle and dove into the deepest point in the lake. Cheers rose up from the crowd and many of the Death Eaters dropped to their knees in surrender. Albus whispered, “It is not over yet….”

Jade spat out Voldemort and swam for shore.

Anne landed and deposited Albus on the ground before returning to her birth form.

Harry stood on the bank of the lake and looked out, “It can’t end that way…I have to be the one to cast…” Out from the lake rose the Dark Mark, looming over all. Voldemort levitated up out of the water, rotating to survey his domain. Harry thought to himself, _“This is your chance to end this once and for all.”_ He whipped out his wand and pointed it at the figure, “Avada Kedavra,” he said in a voice so strong that Hermione stepped back a little. The curse flew out over the lake and nailed Voldemort square between the shoulder blades. Evil screamed in agony and burned green, exploding in a vortex of black that sucked the light from the day. 

At Voldemort’s defeat, Anne felt a shard of pain stab through her Dark Mark and blaze through her entire body. She gasped. Across the field, the same thing happened to Severus. 

Angel recovered from the shock and watched as Jade, soggy, but no longer dragon, merely a human with a pair of great leathery wings, dragged herself exhaustedly onto the beach. Draco ran to meet her as the wings slithered back into her shoulder blades, “Jadelyn, love- are you alright?” Jade sat up and wrung out her hair, “I am hungry and tired as hell, but other that that, I feel better than I have felt in years.” Draco held her close, “Harry did it- we are free.” Jade stood with his help and shouted to the sky, “YOU HEAR THAT? I AM FREE!”

Anne and Severus ran toward one another, Anne scooping up Angel on the way. They met in a family embrace and much laughter. Anne set down Angel and checked her Dark Mark- or where her Dark Mark had been, “Severus…it’s gone- what about yours?” He nodded, grabbed Anne’s shoulders, and kissed her. Angel grinned as Jonas approached, “Looks like Anne’s a bit busy, eh?” Angel nodded as Anne and Severus pulled apart and Anne turned to them, “I heard that- let’s go find Jade and Draco.” Upon the reunion of the Snape family, they went to seek out the Trio. Harry was being carried around the field by Ron, Hermione, Zack, and Ginny and shortly the Snape clan added themselves to the parade, along with Moody, Lupin, and Black, Adrians, Minerva, and Albus. They began the difficult task of restoring the field and carting the offenders off to Azkaban where they were Petrified until they could be tried by the Ministry. 

That night Jade crashed in her room after retelling her battle stories to Draco and George. Angel curled up with Kath, while Anne’s snake friends, Nadine and Liam, draped over the ladder up to Angel’s loft. Anne herself curled up beside Severus on the pull-out couch and they all slept soundly well into the next day.

June third, Jonas’ birthday. Jonas awoke in Ravenclaw house and realized to his delight that he had the best birthday present anyone could ask for- the first day without Voldemort was his own.

It took the staff and students until the sixth to restore the grounds. Lucius Malfoy was found in tree and carted off to Azkaban to await trial. There were no classes for the final week of school. The end of year feast arrived on June eleventh.

Albus rose and addressed the student body, “There is not a single one of you in this room of whom I am not proud. Each and every person who fought has truly discovered their skills as wizards and witches. We have quite a few end of year announcements, starting with Annelise Snape.” Anne rose, “As you can tell, I am pregnant- three months as of this week. This means that I will have a new little one around the house and will not be returning to teach next year. Instead, I have had a wonderful volunteer step forward to take my place. Zack Pitman will be teaching for one year and then he and Ginny will be leaving for Romania to study dragons. At this time, Mr. Ronald Weasley will be taking the position.” She sat down as Severus rose, “I also will not be returning to Hogwarts next year so that I might aid my wife in raising our youngest child. Taking my place will be Miss Riddle.” Jade stood to make an announcement on her own, “…who you will address as Mrs. Malfoy after this summer. My husband will be aiding me in the Lab.” Albus smiled, “We have a bright and glorious future ahead of us, let us each greet it in our own way. Let the feast begin.”

The students said their goodbyes on the twelfth, those who had been in Anne’s class telling her that she had no choice but to bring in her baby. Anne agreed gladly.

The staff departed on the fourteenth after resting all day on the thirteenth. The adventures against Evil had come to an end and Anne sighed happily as she prepared to enter into a great adventure of another kind- living in one place with her husband and newborn while Angel attended Hogwarts.


	10. 10

The first event to after Hogwarts that the Snape family was blessed by was the marriage of Miss Jadelyn Riddle to Mr. Draco Malfoy. They wed on July sixteenth in the library of Nigel’s home. Draco sold his family estate and moved into Nigel’s home so that he and Jade could help Nigel and Chloë as the aged, since Adelaide had run off to London leaving no address or intents to return. Angel began attending Hogwarts in the fall.

December twenty-third Anne went into labour around ten o‘clock at night. Nigel sent for Poppy at Anne’s request and lay as calmly as she could in the delivery room she had discovered in Severus’ home. Poppy arrived and began to instruct Anne. Severus held her hand and whispered comforts to Anne. Poppy smiled, “Anne, you are perhaps the calmest woman I have ever seen in delivery….” Anne tried to smile back. At precisely midnight, the littlest member of the Snape family came into the world. Poppy smiled as Anne sighed and closed her eyes in exhaustion, “Congratulations Severus and Anne, you now have a baby daughter.” She handed the crying little girl to Severus, who was so happy and proud he nearly had tears in his eyes, “Lisie- look- she has your cheekbones….” He handed the little girl to Anne, “And your black hair and eyes…she is beautiful. Welcome, little one, Miss Josephine Adriana Snape.” Poppy cleaned up her work and then went to the door to let in Jade, Draco, Angel, Jonas, Nigel, and Chloë. They all talked quietly with Severus as both mother and child dozed off to sleep.

Jonas graduated from Hogwarts. Anne gave birth to twin girls, Rebekkah Minerva and Britta Lee just before Ursie began her studies at Hogwarts. Anne had her first son, Victor Alan. Angel graduated from Hogwarts. Anne had her second son, Aiden Nigel. Anne gave birth to another little girl, Sasha Aoife.

Jade went into labour with her first child on April first at four in the morning, just short of nine years after the Battle of Hogwarts. She lay in the Hospital wing of the school with Draco by her side, “DRACO MALFOY, IF YOU EVEN THINK OF _TOUCHING_ ME AGAIN, YOU WILL BE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!” she shouted at him as Poppy told her not to push yet. She let out a string of expletives, “Damn it, I WANT to push!” Draco drifted to the door outside of which waited Ron, Harry, Hermione, and the entire Snape clan. Ron shook his head, “Cheer up, mate, you should have heard Hermione during our first- she swore up down and sideways that I would never sleep in the same house as her again…and now we have two more and our fourth on the way. Don’t you worry; she’ll turn ‘round.” Jade yelled to Draco, “MALFOY, GET YOUR BUTT BACK IN HERE- YOU ARE PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS, YOUNG MAN!” Draco sighed and looked at Harry, “Wish me luck, old pal, the dragon calls.” Jade yelped in pain. Poppy gave her more instruction and at six-fifteen in the evening, Jadelyn was not only horse, but the newest member of the Snape clan was brought into the world. Draco was handed his child, “Jade, honey, we have a little girl.” Jade smiled as her body began to relax into the bed, “I’d like to hold her.” Draco handed his wife their first little one, “Do you want to say her name first, Draco?” He smiled at his exhausted wife, “Vanessa Narcissa Malfoy.” Jade sighed, “She looks tired.” Draco picked up his baby, “So do you.” Jade nodded sleepily as she drifted off. Draco whispered to his daughter, “Hello my black curly haired beauty…it seems like I recognize those eyes of yours from somewhere…perhaps your father has them also?” The Trio and the Snape clan entered to catch their first glimpse of the child. Ron nodded, “Gorgeous girl- she has one mighty name- you going to nickname her?” Draco nodded, “This is my little ‘Nessa.”

Ten years after the Battle of Hogwarts, Ursie finished her fifth year at Hogwarts. On June twenty-seventh, Anne stood in the huge kitchen and washed jelly of the five year old twins’ faces. She was six months pregnant with a child that she and Severus believed to be their last. She called to the now sixteen year old Ursie visiting from Nigel’s, “Is there anything in the mail today?” Ursie entered with a three year old Aiden clinging to her leg, “It hasn’t come yet- do you have any idea when Jonas is bringing his new girlfriend up here?” Anne shook her head. Jonas, now twenty-six, had declared at his birthday dinner on the third that he had started seeing the girl of his dreams. He would not give his family even a name, keeping them in suspense. Angel walked into the room with one and a half year old Sasha draped over her shoulder, “Found this one behind the couch charming the dust bunnies.” Anne sighed, “Where did Victor go? He was supposed to tell Severus to sweep back there yesterday….” Severus entered, “So this is our gathering room today…Victor is attached to my arm here- what was he supposed to tell me?” Anne looked at Britta, “How did you get jelly in your hair?” Britta pointed at Rebekkah, “Her.” Anne sighed, “You come by it honestly, I suppose. Severus, why don’t you just ask him?” Josephine brought in the mail, “Mum, do you suppose I will get my Hogwarts letter this year or next?” Angel called to Josephine, “Mum is currently de-jelly-ing Britta and Rebekkah- come on over here with Ursie and me. I think you will probably get it next year- you don’t turn eleven until December- but you could get lucky. Was there anything good in the mail?” Josie flipped through the letters, “There is a bunch of junk, something from Aunt Lanie, a postcard from Aunt Brit and Aunt Rah, and a letter from Hogwarts addressed to Mum, Dad, and Angel.” Angel took the letter and opened it, reading,

“ _Dear Snape family et al-_

_My how the time has flown since the Battle- ten years already. We invite you to return to Hogwarts for a reunion of all those who stood in that line so many years ago and waited for Evil to step forth. Everyone in your family is invited to come out here on July first to celebrate- no need to respond to this, Jade tells me that you will be here come Hell or high water._

_Hope to see you soon!_

_Headmaster Potter_ ”

Anne laughed, “Well, we are going to use the big dining room and Nigel is bringing Jonas, Jade, Draco, ‘Nessa, and Chloë up here tonight- we can discuss it then. Until then, all of you go play or do whatever- it is a beautiful day out and that barn is just waiting for visitors….”

On July first, Anne and Severus led the entire Snape clan to Hogwarts. Much had changed. Hermione Granger-Weasley, Headmistress, Transfiguration instructor and head of Gryffindor House greeted them at the door along with Headmaster Harry Potter. Jade, who was pregnant with she and Draco’s second child, was delighted to talk to Zack and Ginny Pitman, both having returned from their work in Romania for the reunion. Ron and Anne discussed theatre and methods to teaching it while Holli, having come back to teach a music class and lead the Hogwarts High-Frequencies, an inter-house rock band, chatted with Jonas. Jonas then offered his arm to a pretty red haired girl next to Holli and escorted her to where most of the Snapes were somewhat gathered, “Nigel, this is Erin MacCumhail, my girlfriend.” Nigel laughed, “Splendid! Welcome to the clan, Miss MacCumhail!” Draco and Jade shot each other grins as three of their former nemesis came in- the Slytherins who had been so much trouble had arrived. Jade headed them off, “So…you bothered to return, eh?” The all glared at her. Draco stared at a spot on the wall, “You know, that spot has been awful bare since Lucius was taken down….” The three looked at Jade with a slight fear in there eyes, “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll only stick you up there if you act like idiots.”

The reunion lasted well into the night with speeches by all the members of the former D.V.A.K. and those who had been instrumental in the downfall of Voldemort. Jade revealed a book she had written called, “ _The Fall of Mould Man: Personal Encounters_ ” in which she detailed the events of the day through interviews she had collected over the last ten years. She had dedicated the book to Narcissa Malfoy.

At the end of the reunion, everyone departed with high spirits and an invitation to the fifteenth reunion.

For Annelise, Severus, their children (Angel, Josephine, Britta, Rebekkah, Victor, Aiden, and Sasha), Jadelyn, Draco, Vanessa, Nigel, Ursie, Jonas, Erin, the Inseparable Trio, Holli, Ginny, Zack, and the entire Hogwarts gang, here comes the end of their stories. While all may not have begun well or gone well in between, all ends here happily with them moving on with their lives, content and well loved.


End file.
